If You Can Hear Me
by Natalie122333
Summary: Rory is almost ready to deliver her baby when she is in a car accident and falls into a coma. Luke and Lorelai must raise their grandson. Logan will also be a part of this story.
1. Chapter 1

Lorelai was pulled from a deep sleep by the sound of her cell phone ringing. She groaned and reached for her phone blindly in the dark. Her husband of eight months was snoring softly next to her. Luke could sleep through anything.

She finally grasped the phone and touched the screen to answer the call before lifting it to her ear.

"Hello?" She answered groggily.

The person on the other line was a nurse from the hospital. She said Rory had been in a car accident a few hours ago and was at the Hospital in Hartford. Rory was in Hartford buying some last minute things for the baby's room and she also had dinner with Christopher who was in town for business. She assumed Rory got home late and was sleeping downstairs.

"Oh my god. How is she? Is the baby alright?" Lorelai exclaimed.

"Your daughter suffered a lot of trauma. I haven't been updated on her condition but I'm sure you'll come as soon as possible and her main physician will see you. We did perform an emergency C-section though and your grandson was born about an hour ago. He's doing well so far... your daughter must have been almost to term."

"She was about thirty six weeks." Lorelai said quietly.

The nurse told her where to go once she arrived at the hospital. Lorelai thanked her and ended the call. She blinked in the darkness, thinking scary thoughts. _What if Rory died? And her new grandson? He had to be okay and Rory would be okay too. He couldn't lose his mother after just being born._

Lorelai shook her head and turned her bedside lamp on. She gently shook Luke to wake him. It took almost a minute but he woke, rubbing his face. He slowly turned to face her.

"What time is it?" He murmured.

"Five a.m. hon, the hospital just called my cell phone. Rory's been in a car accident."

"What?" Luke shot up, pulling himself into a sitting position.

"Rory's hurt and they had to deliver the baby via C-section. We have a grandson." She managed a tiny smile.

Luke's brow furrowed. He sprang into action, pushing the covers back. Once he was out of the bed, her gestured for Lorelai to hurry.

They quickly got dressed in random clothes and practically ran out of the house.

Once they were on the highway, Lorelai reached over for Luke's hand. He took one hand off the steering wheel and entwined their fingers. He brought their joined hands to his mouth and kissed hers.

"Everything's gonna be okay." He said gently.

Lorelai nodded but she didn't express her fear. Luke held her hand for another few minutes before putting his hand back on the wheel.

* * *

They arrived at the hospital twenty minutes later. Lorelai guided Luke to where the nurse told her to go. She told the man behind the desk who she was and asked about Rory. He said he would have someone track down the doctor as soon as possible.

Luke and Lorelai waited anxiously. Luke asked if Lorelai wanted a coffee. Lorelai shook her head no.

"Come here." Luke whispered as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

She curled up to him, resting her head against his chest. He kissed the top of her head and rubbed her back a little. They remained standing as all of the seats in the room were taken.

The doctor finally entered the room about forty minutes later. The man behind the desk pointed out Lorelai and Luke out to her.

"Are you Lorelai Gilmore's parents?" The doctor asked them as she stepped up to Lorelai and Luke.

"Yes and she goes by Rory." Lorelai said quickly.

Luke didn't bother correcting her by saying he was Rory's stepfather. He always saw Rory as sort of his own anyway and the details didn't matter right now.

"All right. Why don't we go in my office and talk in private?"

"I need to know that Rory is okay first." Lorelai said harshly.

"She'll tell us all about Rory in her office, it's better to hear the news in a quiet room, right?" Luke asked the doctor.

She nodded. "Yes. Please follow me, it's right around the corner."

Lorelai sighed but nodded. They followed the doctor, a simple five minute walk.

Once they closed the door behind them and sat down, the doctor, Luke noticed her nametag, Dr. Griffin, cleared her throat.

"I'm afraid Rory has fallen into a coma."

"A coma?" Lorelai sputtered.

Luke placed a hand on her knee.

"She's been moved to the ICU where we can monitor her closely. You can go see her but I thought you might want to meet your grandson first." Dr. Griffin continued.

Lorelai didn't say anything so Luke spoke after clearing his throat. "Is he okay?"

Dr. Griffin nodded. "He's in the NICU and he's being closely monitored but he appears to be healthy." She smiled gently.

"I want to see Rory first." Lorelai said suddenly.

Dr. Griffin nodded and stood up. She headed out the door, walking slowly. Luke and Lorelai followed her silently.

* * *

It took about ten minutes to get to the ICU. They stopped outside the door Dr. Griffin told Luke and Lorelai to prepare themselves, warned them about all the medical equipment she would be connected to and the bruises and cuts she had.

Luke put his arm around Lorelai and they walked inside behind the doctor. Lorelai slowly brought her gaze to the occupied bed in the room. She wasn't prepared for what she saw.

It was more than frightening for Lorelai to see her daughter like this. To see Rory so still and hooked up to a few different machines that beeped was scary. Luke's grip on Lorelai tightened and she pressed her face into his chest, needing to look away after only a minute.

Dr. Griffin's pager beeped then. "I'm sorry but I have to leave. Can you make it to the NICU okay?" She said after a minute.

Luke gave her a little nod. She gave him a small sad smile and left.

Lorelai started sobbing, the sound muffled by Luke's chest.

"Hey, hey… shh." Luke whispered, not knowing what to say to try to comfort her. He glanced up at Rory's bed and sucked in a breath. He felt tears threatening to fall from his own eyes.

Lorelai pulled away after a couple minutes. "How could this happen to my baby girl?" She wailed.

"Probably some idiot drunk driver," Luke muttered under his breath. He kept Lorelai in a one-armed embrace.

When Lorelai slowly started to turn towards Rory's bed, Luke tried to pull her back into his chest.

"Luke please. I just want to talk to her for a minute. I don't know if she can hear me but I need to…" She said softly.

Luke pressed his lips together but he let her go. She walked up to the bed and Luke came to stand behind her.

The beeping of the machine distracted Lorelai for a second before she reached down and placed her hand on top of Rory's.

She let out a breath, "Hi sweets…" She made a choking noise.

Luke put a hand on her shoulder and rubbed a little.

"Um I don't know how this happened but I know you can beat this… and you can meet your baby boy. We're going to go meet him ourselves, I'm sure he's beautiful. I just… I can't believe this happened to you. I love you." Lorelai didn't know what else to say. Her mind was scrambled.

After a minute of silence passed, she felt Luke's lips touch her temple.

"Let's go meet our new grandson. There's nothing we can do here." He whispered.

"Okay." Lorelai whispered back.

They looked at Rory one last time before leaving the room, hand in hand.

Fifteen minutes later, they were suited up to go into the sterile environment of the NICU.

The nurse who was inside told them they couldn't hold the baby since he was in the incubator and his temperature wasn't stable. However, they could touch him gently with gloved hands.

"Hi baby boy. I'm your grandma and this is your grandpa. We're so excited to meet you." She grinned. She was amazed that she was looking at her first grandchild. He wasn't even a day old and he was precious. She couldn't remember Rory being this small.

"He's so small." Luke said.

"He'll grow fast… once he's healthy enough to leave the hospital." Lorelai sounded so sure, Luke thought. "We're going to have to take care of him. We're the only family he has besides my mother and Chris." She murmured.

 _And Logan._ Luke thought. He didn't know too much about Rory's situation with Logan so he didn't want to speak out loud. Logan knew he was going to be a Dad but Luke wasn't sure if he planned on being involved in the baby's life or not. Rory didn't like talking about it.

"I mean Rory's his mom but she's…" Lorelai trailed off. She started to cry again.

"We'll take care of him. We can handle it." Luke assured her. He pulled her into his arms and held her as she cried.

* * *

 **Author's note: Thank you for reading. Reviews are always appreciated. This is the first chapter to set everything up. I'll write when I can and post new chapters as often as possible. Logan will be in the next chapter and just so you know, I am a Rogan fan and you won't see much ASP's revival version of Logan lol.**


	2. Chapter 2

Logan Huntzberger closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat. He was on a plane, traveling from London to Hartford. He begged for sleep to come so he wouldn't have to be reminded of his last conversation, no, argument with his father.

" _You cannot do this Logan! I will not let my son be disgraced. You're not leaving Odette for Rory Gilmore and your illegitimate unborn child!" Mitchum shouted._

 _Logan laughed half-heartedly. "You're wrong, because that's exactly what I'm doing. And you don't have any say in it. You seem to forget I'm a thirty four year old man who can make his own decisions."_

 _ **It wasn't until Rory entered her third trimester that Logan finally realized what he really wanted. She flew all the way to London to tell him she was pregnant in person. He was in shock and he told her he would offer emotional, financial or any kind of support she needed. Rory told him that she would allow him to support her and the baby financially and she would allow him to be involved in the child's life, he could visit whenever he wanted. She didn't want a romantic relationship with him. Rory would continue living with her mother and Luke. They had immediately offered to change the spare bedroom into a nursery.**_

 _ **When Logan last saw Rory, they had agreed to end their affair. It was time, they both knew it. He missed her deeply but he continued to plan for his upcoming nuptials. When she came to him and told him about the baby they had made, he started to deeply regret letting her go. Odette was oblivious to his lengthy affair with Rory and he did feel guilty. She found out about Rory and the baby when she overheard him on the phone one day, when Rory was about five months along.**_

 _ **From there, things became hectic and complicated. Odette finally admitted that she was only engaged to Logan for the family businesses merging benefits, she never really loved him. Logan felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He wasn't in love with Odette either, no matter how many times he tried to tell himself that their relationship was great and things would be fine, it didn't change the facts. Logan didn't want to be in a loveless marriage, a sham. He wanted Rory; he wanted to be with her and their baby. Even after ten years, he never stopped loving her. He believed that fate had brought them back together. Even though they went about their relationship the wrong way by cheating on their significant others, they were meant to be together, Logan truly believed that. It sounded pathetic and messed up in his head, but he knew he wanted to be with the only women he had ever loved.**_

 _Mitchum smirked. "Did you forget that I was the one who saved your ass when you lost all that money and couldn't find a job? I allowed you to come into the family business even though you had shamed the Huntzberger name. I found you a nice girl who understands this family and what it takes to be a part of it."_

' _I found you a nice girl' Logan quoted. "Do you hear what that sounds like? It sounds like an arranged marriage… yeah, I went along with it at first because I couldn't find another way out of the business and I was starting to feel like I'd never find another girl to love… but then Rory reappeared in my life and Odette was pushed farther and farther to the back of my mind. Everything was different when Rory came back into my life. I wasn't miserable anymore and I realized I never stopped loving her." His voice broke._

" _Oh please. You just felt high from your little affair. I felt the same way when I was with other women early in our marriage… but I came around and I made the Huntzberger name a well-known one. Rory is someone who the old you thought you were in love with, Loagn. Odette is your future. You will only have success if you marry her. Unfortunately Rory is pregnant with your child." Mitchum grimaced. "You should have given her money to take care of that. Now you'll have to give her money to keep quiet. I can't have that child grow up and try to steal our fortune."_

" _Take care of it?" Logan shouted. "That baby is mine. He or she may not have been planned, but I already love them and I love Rory." He sighed. "Odette has known for months and she admitted that she doesn't want to marry me either. I think she has someone she left in France." He rubbed his face. "I have two interviews set up in New York and I am moving back there. You can't stop me and I don't want to listen to anything you have to say. I will not listen to you insult the woman I love and our unborn child. Goodbye Dad."_

 _Logan turned around and walked out the door. He heard Mitchum say one last sentence: "You're making a huge mistake, Logan."_

Logan sighed softly and opened his eyes and sat up straight. He saw the flight attendant carrying a tray of drinks and raised his eyebrows. Maybe a drink or two could help him forget his father. He had several hours left on this flight and he would rather think about seeing Rory again. They had talked on the phone a few times since she went back to the States after telling him about the pregnancy.

Once he had gotten his drink, he sat back and looked out the window. He prayed that the flight would go by faster than usual. He had never been able to sleep on airplanes and his mind was racing, his thoughts scrambled. Rory didn't even know he was coming and coming to stay. _She has a big surprise coming._ He thought.

* * *

Once Lorelai managed to collect herself and stop crying, she and Luke watched the baby for a few more minutes then whispered a soft goodbye to him. Lorelai walked ahead of Luke and he had to speed walk to catch up.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"Out of the hospital, I have to call my mother." She said, her voice lacking emotion.

Luke just nodded although Lorelai wasn't looking at him.

They made their way to the main entrance and walked outside. The sun had started to rise, Luke noticed. Time had moved on although it felt like it had frozen when he saw Rory so still in the hospital bed.

Lorelai already had her cell phone up to her ear. Thirty seconds passed before she spoke, "Hi Mom."

"Yeah, I know it's early, but I'm sorry, I have some bad news." She sucked in a breath.

… "Yeah, it's Rory and the baby. Rory was in a car accident and." Lorelai took another shaky breath. "And she's in a coma. The baby is okay, it's a boy. You have a great grandson."

Lorelai was silent as she listened to whatever Emily was saying. Luke watched as her expression stayed the same. She looked exhausted and devastated. His heart ached and he put a hand on her back, absently rubbed it gently.

"Okay. I'll see you in a few hours. Bye." Lorelai ended the call and slid the phone into her jeans pocket.

Luke pulled her to his side, wanting to somehow comfort her. He didn't know what to do or say.

Luke's presence through all of this did help Lorelai. She knew there was no way he'd leave her side and there were no words to describe how much she loved him for that. She was suddenly reminded of her father's first heart attack in 2007. Christopher was her husband and he wasn't there but Luke showed up like nothing had happened. Luke would always be there for Lorelai and Rory, no matter what their relationship was. She didn't know was she was comparing Christopher and Luke still, ten years after her first marriage had dissolved. After ten years of being in a stable relationship with Luke and eight months of being married to him.

Lorelai knew she had to tell Christopher what happened. Before she could take her phone back out of her pocket, Luke spoke.

"We need to tell Logan." He said gruffly.

"Oh… yeah, you're right." Lorelai said slowly. She had indifferent feelings towards her grandchild's father. "I don't have his number though."

"Rory's phone is at home. I remember she left it there because it wasn't charging properly and she said she would go without it although I told her I thought it was unwise to go without it in case there was an emergency." Luke bit his lip.

"Well, let's go home." Lorelai said.

Luke followed her to the truck without saying another word.

* * *

Once they got home, Lorelai rushed into Rory's room and found her phone plugged into the wall charger. She pressed the home button and the screen came to life. It was only seventy percent charged. She gently pulled the cord out and tried to unlock the phone with a guess at Rory's password. It took a few attempts, but she guessed the right password and then went to the contacts list and found Logan.

Lorelai called him without saying anything to Luke who was standing next to her. The call went straight to voicemail and Lorelai cursed under her breath.

"Um hi Logan… this is Lorelai Gilmore. I need you to call me back as soon as possible. Uh I'm calling from Rory's phone but you can call my phone." She recited her cell number and then ended the call.

Luke glanced at her but Lorelai wasn't looking at him. She moved and sat down on Rory's bed. It was unmade and Lorelai grasped the sheets, held them to her face.

"Hey." Luke said gently as he came to stand next to the bed.

"She should be here, resting. The baby should still be inside of her, kicking her, making her smile. She should still be here where it's safe, impatiently waiting for her son to arrive." Lorelai declared.

"I know." Luke replied. He wanted to take away all her pain. He wanted his happy, zany, loving wife back. He knew that wasn't possible now.

Luke coughed awkwardly. "Uh maybe we should get back to the hospital. See Rory's doctor again and wait for Emily."

Lorelai nodded. She reached out her hand and he took it, helped her up.

He wrapped an arm around her and they walked out of the bedroom.

"We should eat something. Just something quick," Luke muttered.

Lorelai walked over to the kitchen counter without a word. Luke shut the bedroom door behind him and followed her. They picked up a couple granola bars and an apple for Luke. That would have to do for now. Luke quickly grabbed a couple water bottles from the fridge before they left the house.

* * *

A couple hours later, they met with Dr. Griffin again and had all of their questions about comas answered. There was no way to know when Rory would wake up. It could be days or weeks or even years. Lorelai couldn't find the strength to go back into Rory's room, not yet. She would wait until Emily arrived.

She and Luke visited the baby again. The NICU nurse told them that he had developed symptoms of jaundice but it wasn't really anything to worry about. It was pretty common and most cases could be easily treated.

"His temperature is stable; his body is doing what it's supposed to. He's definitely a strong little guy… does he have a name?" The nurse asked.

"Oh um no he doesn't. I'm sure you know his mother isn't…" Lorelai trailed off.

The nurse nodded. "It's tragic." She looked at them sorrowfully.

"Didn't Rory have names picked out?" Luke asked hesitantly. Rory didn't want to know if the baby was a boy or girl. She wanted it to be a surprise.

"Yeah she did." Lorelai smiled as she looked at the baby. She remembered the name she had picked out for a boy. "Owen. Owen Richard." She said, also remembering Rory had wanted him to have the middle name Richard.

The nurse smiled, "That's a nice name."

Luke remained silent. His eyes were on the baby. He smiled as he put the name to his little face. It fit.

Owen really didn't look like either of his parents yet. He was bald so you couldn't tell if he would be blond or brunette. It was also hard to tell what facial features he had inherited from Rory or Logan.

"Do I need to fill out the birth certificate or anything?" Lorelai asked.

"We can do that later. Do you want to hold him?" The nurse answered.

"Can I? Is he healthy enough?" Lorelai was worried.

"He should be fine."

Lorelai smiled softly. She and Luke still had to wear scrubs and gloves. She watched closely as the nurse lifted Owen out of the incubator. Once Owen was in her arms, she couldn't help but grin.

He was precious. She still couldn't believe she had a grandson and he was here, in the world after so many months. She was just as amazed as she was when Rory was born. Owen was sleeping soundly and he was breathing evenly. Lorelai stepped closer to Luke so he could get a closer look.

Luke looked at Owen, also amazed. He looked so small, although he was a healthy weight. Doula had been bigger and she and Jess had been the only newborns he had held. He had been present when Steve and Kwan had been born but he didn't want to hold them, he was scared he would drop them or do something wrong.

"You want to hold him?" Lorelai asked.

"Oh, no, you have this moment." Luke said quickly.

"Aw come on, he wants to be held by Grandpa Luke."

"No, it's okay. I think I'll wait 'til he gets a little bigger." Luke kept his eyes on Owen.

"He won't break." Lorelai protested but before Luke could respond, Owen's eyes fluttered open and he squirmed in Lorelai's arms.

Luke backed away a little when Owen started to cry.

"Aw what's wrong, honey?" Lorelai frowned.

"It's about time for his next feeding." The nurse had gone to the other side of the room to tend to another baby. She told them she would prepare a bottle.

Lorelai handed Owen back to the nurse when she returned with the warm bottle. Luke and Lorelai watched her feed him for a minute before they left the NICU.

* * *

Once they had removed their scrubs and left the NICU area, Lorelai's phone beeped. It was inside her purse.

"Oh crap." She muttered.

"What?" Luke said, worried.

"I called Logan but I forgot to call Chris. He needs to know too."

"Oh yeah," Luke said solemnly.

Emily wouldn't be arriving from Nantucket for a while. Lorelai and Luke headed back outside. She saw she had a text from Sookie. Sookie was back working at the Dragonfly part time. She was there now and she was wondering where Lorelai was. Lorelai called Sookie first, vowing to call Christopher right after.

* * *

 **Author's note: Thank you so much for all the follows and reviews. This is kind of a weird place to end the chapter but this is where I'm leaving it.  
Since I watched the revival and I knew that Rory was pregnant with Logan's baby, I liked to believe that he would be there for her and the baby some way. I wanted him to leave Odette in the revival, I was really hoping he would after Rory asked him if he was really going to marry her… but he just said that was the dynastic plan and I that made me so frustrated. I hate the way ASP wrote Logan in the revival. I don't condone the cheating (Rory on Paul or Logan on Odette) but I think Rory and Logan so clearly still loved each other and neither one of them spoke up and admitted it. And I hate the Logan/Chris comparison. I decided to just end the Odette thing like this; I hope it's believable…**

 **Feedback is always appreciated.**


	3. Chapter 3

Emily arrived at the hospital late afternoon. She met Luke and Lorelai by the main entrance.

"I want to see Rory." She said immediately.

Lorelai frowned and said, "Okay, but you need to be prepared… it was shock to see her like that. I mean you try to imagine it before you see it, but you just aren't prepared." She swallowed.

Emily glanced at Lorelai, her expression grave. "I just need to see her." She said quietly.

Lorelai just nodded. Emily followed her and Luke to Rory's room. Visiting hours were almost over for the day.

When they got to Rory's room, Lorelai let Emily go in front of her and Luke. She was right behind her though, with a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Oh my God," Emily breathed when she finally saw her granddaughter. She walked closer to the bed, pulling free from Lorelai's grasp.

Luke and Lorelai remained by the door, silently watching Emily until Lorelai got the courage to go up to the bed too.

Emily was holding Rory's hand and just looking down at her in awe. Lorelai placed her hand back on Emily's shoulder.

"What did the doctor say?" Emily questioned.

When Lorelai didn't answer, Luke spoke:

"We don't know when she'll wake up. It could take weeks, months even years."

Emily sighed.

"But she's strong and I believe it will be sooner rather than later." Lorelai spoke up.

"That's right." Emily said softly.

Luke also stepped up to the bed, going to the opposite side. He looked down at Rory for a moment before speaking.

"Come on kid, we all need you to wake up. We're all here, your mom, your grandmother and me."

"Does anyone else know?" Emily asked, looking from Luke to Lorelai.

"Well I called Logan and left a message and Sookie knows and Chris too, I called them… I suppose the town should know too. "Lorelai answered.

"Can I see my great grandson?" Emily asked after a moment of silence.

"Oh yeah, he's in the NICU. The visiting hours start soon I think." Luke told her as Lorelai seemed lost looking at Rory.

Luke walked over to Lorelai and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She blinked and wrapped her arm around his waist. They stepped a few feet away.

"Let's head to the cafeteria and get some more food in you. And I'm sure Emily could eat too." He whispered in her ear.

Lorelai just nodded. "Mom, let's go to the cafeteria for a bit."

Emily looked down at Rory and gently touched her hair. "All right," She said, sounding regretful.

They headed down a few floors to the cafeteria. Luke got himself a chicken caesar salad and water, a slice of pizza and a coke for Lorelai. Emily just got a coffee and a sandwich. They ate in uncomfortable silence.

* * *

Once Logan had landed and was out of the airport, he regrettably turned his cell phone back on. He'd expected to see at least two messages from his father but the only missed call was from Rory's phone. He smiled and touched the screen to play the message and held the phone to his ear.

After he heard Lorelai's message, he frowned and became worried. He listened to the message again and jotted down Lorelai's number then called her.

Lorelai answered on the second ring.

"Hi Logan?" She wasn't sure if it was him.

"Hey Lorelai, I got your message, is everything okay? Where's Rory?"

"Um well that's why I called. Rory was in a car accident. They had to deliver the baby via C-section. You have a son." Lorelai stammered

"Wow… and how's Rory? She's okay right?"

Lorelai sighed deeply. Logan sounded so concerned. She didn't want to be the one to tell him the mother of his child was in a coma.

"Rory's in a coma." She finally said.

"What?" Logan replied.

"She's in a coma and we don't know when she'll wake up."

"Oh God… how? I…" Logan was at a loss for words.

"I know. It's a big shock." Lorelai sighed again.

"Yeah… and uh is our son okay?" Logan questioned.

"Owen. He's doing fine. Rory wanted to name him Owen so we did." Lorelai told him.

"Oh." Logan let out a shaky breath. "I'm coming to the hospital. Are you in Hartford?"

"Um yeah, Saint Francis,"

"I'll meet you there at the front entrance in about half an hour, okay?" Logan was determined. He hoped that Lorelai wouldn't be defensive and refuse to let him see Rory or his son.

"All right," Lorelai answered a little hesitantly.

Logan ended the call and almost dropped his phone. He rubbed his face and blinked. He barely got any sleep on the flight and was exhausted. Now he would have to remain awake instead of heading to the hotel he had booked. He tried not to let scary thoughts invade his mind and called a car service.

* * *

Once Lorelai put her phone down on the table, Emily asked if it was Logan.

"Yeah, he's coming here."

"I thought he lived in London." Emily deadpanned.

"I guess he just flew in. He's gotta be at the airport." Lorelai replied.

"Hmm," Was all Emily said.

"How did he seem?" Luke asked.

"What do you mean?"

"When you told him about Rory and the baby,"

"Worried, he seemed worried."

Luke nodded.

"He should have been here. The baby was due in a few weeks. He should have been her to support her, not gallivanting around with his fiancée." Emily muttered.

"He was supposed to come after the baby was born. He didn't expect this to happen." Lorelai said.

"Well of course he didn't expect it, no one did. I just meant he should live here, so he can be here for Rory. I don't care if they aren't together; a man should be there for his child and the child's mother." Emily crossed her arms.

Lorelai just raised her eyebrows. The three of them were silent again for a few minutes.

"You want a coffee?" Luke asked Lorelai.

"No." Lorelai frowned and put her arms on the table then rested her head on top of them.

"Are you sure? I'm going to get a tea."

"Well okay, but just a small one." Lorelai lifted her head.

"Coming up," Luke turned to Emily. "Would you like another coffee?"

"No thank you." Emily said quietly.

Luke stood and leaned down to press a quick kiss to the top of Lorelai's head before he walked off.

"Lorelai," Emily said to get her daughter's attention after a minute passed.

"Hmm?" Lorelai had put her head back down but she lifted it again.

"I suppose we'll wait for Logan to show up before we go and see Owen?"

"I guess so." Lorelai nodded and bit her lip. She wondered what Logan's reaction to his son would be. She didn't know if he had ever been around any babies. She vaguely remembered he had a niece and a nephew but she wasn't sure if he interacted with them much. Seeing Owen in the incubator might give him a shock. _Not as much as a shock as seeing Rory hooked up to all those tubes and wires_ , she thought.

"I'm going to go call Berta. I'll be back in a few minutes." Emily said.

"Okay." Lorelai replied.

When Luke came back couple minutes later, Lorelai gestured for him to move closer to her. He awkwardly pulled his chair closer.

"What?" He asked gently.

Lorelai leaned in and gave him a soft kiss. She pressed her forehead to his for a couple seconds then pulled back.

"Thanks for staying here with me, hon." She whispered.

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be." He said sternly.

"Well you ditched the diner for us and I appreciate it."

Luke's brow furrowed. "Shoot, the diner. I forgot to call Caesar. But the diner comes second…" He trailed off.

"Go call him. I'm sure he opened without you anyway when the people showed up and it was closed." Lorelai said. Caesar had his own set of keys as he ran the diner on Sundays and opened on the odd day when Luke needed more sleep.

"Yeah, okay." Luke mumbled. He got up, slipping his ancient cell phone out of his pocket and walked over to where Emily was.

Emily walked past Luke and returned to the table.

"How's Berta?" Lorelai asked with a small smile.

"She's fine. I told her I wouldn't need dinner tonight. I'm also going to need to call the museum and tell them I won't be able to do any of my upcoming shifts." Emily replied.

"Yeah," Lorelai said sadly. She would need to call Sookie back later and Michel to let them know she didn't know when she's be returning to the Inn.

* * *

Logan arrived about twenty minutes later. They met him at the front entrance and he looked like a train wreck, Luke noticed. His hair was a mess and he had bags under his eyes. He was pulling a suitcase behind him and a large duffel bag was on his shoulder.

"Hi." Logan said gently as he stepped up to them.

"Hey." Lorelai said. She met his eyes and saw how anxious he looked. "We can go see Owen. Visiting hours for the intensive care unit are done for today but the NICU is open."

"The NICU? Isn't that where sick babies go?" Logan implored.

"Yes, but he's doing okay. He was born a little early and I think he has jaundice but other than that he's good, adorable." Lorelai said with a small smile.

"Okay." Logan nodded.

They headed to the NICU. Emily and Luke didn't say a word. Emily looked as though she wanted to say something, but she just kept stealing glances at Logan.

"So, I assume you flew in from London?" Lorelai asked as they walked.

"Yeah, I came to stay for a while. Permanently actually,"

"Permanently?"

Logan didn't answer. They had arrived at the NICU. He swallowed nervously and reached for the door to the area where you put on scrubs.

Luke told Logan and Emily to put on a pair of scrubs. Emily insisted she go in first and only two visitors will allowed at once so she and Lorelai went in first.

"Oh my," Emily whispered as she held Baby Owen. "He's gorgeous."

"That's those Gilmore genes." Lorelai boasted.

"He's half Huntzberger too." Emily said, sounding a little annoyed.

The nurse who was on duty updated them and told them he did develop jaundice, but it wasn't severe. He also told them that he was eating well and there were no other problems.

After Emily held him for a few minutes, Lorelai said it was time Logan meet his son. She felt a little bad for making him wait.

Emily gently passed the baby to Lorelai and left without saying another word. She walked past Luke and Logan and left the NICU area.

"Go ahead." Luke said to Logan after a minute had passed.

"Oh, right." Logan let out a breath and stepped forward.

Once Logan had gotten to where Lorelai stood, she looked down at Owen.

"I'm going to hand you over to him now. Meet your daddy, Owen."

Logan took a tiny step back. "Ah I… what if I don't hold him right?"

"There's not much to it. Just make sure you support his hand and be gentle. You have held a baby before right? Or no?" Lorelai wondered if he had held his niece or nephew, maybe not.

"Uh yeah. My niece and nephew, but they weren't this small."

"He won't break. I told Luke the same thing and he still wouldn't hold him. But you're the dad, you have to hold him. He needs to bond with you." Lorelai met Logan's gaze. She saw fear in his eyes but he held out his arms.

Lorelai slowly put Owen into Logan's arms. Owen squirmed a little and made a noise.

"He doesn't like me." Logan murmured under his breath.

"You're fine." Lorelai assured. She was a little wary of Logan still, unsure if he would be reliable or what he meant when he said he was staying permanently. _Did he leave Odette?_ She wondered. She doubted it.

Logan was smiling down at Owen. His thoughts were scrambled, mostly with worry for Rory, but once he looked into his son's eyes, he focused. _My son,_ he thought. _This is my son._ He was in awe and he already felt so much love for Owen.

"He's got Rory's nose." Logan whispered.

"Really? I hadn't noticed." Lorelai looked down at the baby.

Logan laughed as the baby grasped his finger. Lorelai watched them interact with a heavy heart. Logan would be Owen's only parent for the unforeseeable future and she had to know for sure that he would be sticking around. She and Luke would bring the baby home when the time came, no questions asked, but she would let Logan visit him if he was actually staying in Hartford or nearby. She also needed to know if Logan or his family would try to fight them for custody although she doubted it.

"Hey, Logan?"

"Hmm?" Logan didn't look up, kept his eyes on Owen.

"I need to know if you'll really be sticking around. I can't let you come and go in and out of Owen's life. Are you planning on moving to Hartford or?" Lorelai spoke clearly and quickly. She needed answers.

Logan's expression changed. He nodded curtly and asked the nurse to take the baby.

"Let's go talk outside." He said.

* * *

 **Author's notes: Thanks for reading, following and reviewing this story. I really appreciate it.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note: So I got a handful of reviews that objected to the idea of Lorelai wanting to take the baby home since Logan is the biological father and he would have more rights than the grandmother. That is true, however I see Lorelai as a very determined and protective person. She would do anything for her loved ones and she is wary of Logan, although she doesn't know he is broken up with Odette yet (keep in mind she's very frantic and her mind is jumbled right now, given the situation). Logan is not prepared to take Owen home; he just came back to the US and he didn't know that Owen was born and Rory was in a coma until he arrived. He doesn't have an apartment yet (or a job but he still has money of course) and he doesn't have a crib, diapers or any other baby necessities. Lorelai and Luke have the nursery already set up at their house as Rory was planning on living there. I hope you continue to read the story, there is only 4 chapters, so there is much more to tell. Thanks for the feedback.**

* * *

Lorelai and Logan walked through the hospital, Logan leading her outside. The late afternoon sun was bright and they both squinted and blocked their eyes. Lorelai pointed out a bench that was in the shade. They walked over and sat down on opposite ends.

Logan cleared his throat. "So, I need you to know that I am moving back to The States, I'm currently in the process of it, actually. I'm planning on moving to New York, I've got a couple of job interviews in there in a few days. Maybe I can find a job in Hartford instead, but I don't know." He kept eye contact with her the whole time.

Lorelai nodded slowly. "Okay, but what about your fiancée? Rory told me she knows about Owen's existence but she didn't say how that was all going to work out. Is Odette moving here too or?"

Logan glanced away for a second, suddenly feeling ashamed. "Actually we broke up. It was amicable. Well at first it wasn't…." He trailed off, remembering when Odette first found out about Rory.

" _I'll be there for my child's birth, Rory. I want to meet my baby and we need to talk in person, arrange everything…" Logan said. He shifted the phone from one ear to another.  
"Yeah, I know we aren't getting back together but I want to support you and our kid… and I want to be involved. I don't want to be an absentee father." _

_He listened to what Rory said. She agreed to it. She claimed she wouldn't fight him. But she seemed to be more concerned about Odette. She asked how she would fit in to all of this. The wedding would be a month after the baby was supposed to be born and Rory wanted to know if Odette wanted to meet her future stepchild._

" _No. I think it would be best to keep my life with the baby and you separate from my life here in London. I don't want Odette to be involved."_

 _Rory asked him if he was sure._

" _I'll tell her about you and the baby eventually. I can't keep this a big secret forever. Look, don't think about anything stressful… I'll handle it. Get some rest. Okay, bye." Logan let out a breath as soon as he ended the call._

 _Little did he know, Odette had woken up from her afternoon nap and was listening from the next room. She came into the room a couple minutes later._

" _Logan, did I just hear what I thought I heard?' She asked, placed her hands on her hips._

 _Logan jumped. He didn't hear her come in. "You startled me."_

" _Answer the question."_

" _Okay… um yeah. I had… relations with another woman and she's having my baby." Logan admitted it right away._

 _This lead to a screaming match. Odette felt betrayed. Logan accused her of not being fully committed to him either. She said he was trying to condone cheating. She claimed that she had only been with him since they got together but he didn't fully believe her. They finally came to the conclusion that the whole engagement was a mess. They never truly loved each other and they were only involved for the business benefits. Over the past few months, Odette slowly moved her things out and moved back to France. Logan was left alone and once his father found out, things really blew up. Logan knew he had to leave England and move back to The States and sort everything out with Rory before the baby came._

Logan told Lorelai all this.

"Oh…" was all Lorelai said. She didn't expect this. She had to think about what to say. "So your plan is to live in New York and visit Owen on weekends? That's about a three hour drive."

Logan ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know my exact plans in regards to Owen _._ This is all a lot to take in."

"I know." Lorelai smiled. She felt sympathy for him. His son was just born and the mother of his child was in a coma. She knew it wouldn't be right to be angry with him right now although she still didn't fully trust him.

"The ICU visiting hours aren't until tomorrow morning, so you might want to head to your hotel or where ever you're staying. Owen won't be discharged for a few days, when he's healthy enough. Luke and I will probably head back to Stars Hollow as there isn't anything we can do for Rory." Lorelai said.

"Okay, but I hope you know I won't bail on Owen. I'll be back to see Rory and him tomorrow and we'll need to discuss Owen's living arrangements." Logan replied.

Lorelai frowned. "Well I figured he'll live with Luke and I. We're married now, I'm not sure if Rory told you. The nursery is already set up and we're prepared for him. Rory had been living with us and she planned to stay for at least another year as she finishes up the second draft of her book and she took a part time job at the bookstore." She sighed.

"I understand that…" Logan didn't look at Lorelai. "Look, we can sort out everything later. I think we both need rest. Rory would want us to be well rested and not to worry too much."

"I agree." Lorelai said simply. She held out her hand and Logan gave it a shake. It was a formal gesture and Lorelai wasn't used to it. She usually hugged people, but she wasn't close to Logan. Sometimes she still saw him as the young man who broke her daughter's heart when he walked away after she rejected his proposal.

"Thanks Lorelai." Logan nodded and gave her a tiny smile.

Lorelai smiled back. Logan turned around and started walking away. He turned back less than a minute later.

"I'll be back early in the morning." He told her.

Lorelai just nodded. She headed back inside and made her way back to the NICU.

She saw that Luke was inside the room and she quickly put her scrubs back on and stepped inside.

Her heart melted at the sight of Luke sitting on a rocking chair, Owen sleeping in his arms.

"Hey." She whispered as she came to stand next to the chair.

Luke didn't say anything, just flashed her a smile before returning his attention back to Owen.

"See, it's not so bad, you're doing a great job holding him." She said.

"Yeah," Luke whispered. "Can you take him back to the incubator?" He added after a minute.

Lorelai bent down and gently took Owen out of Luke's arms. The nurse helped her place him back in the incubator. Luke came over and they looked down at their grandson for a moment before leaving the room.

Once they had removed their scrubs and left the area, Luke asked how she and Logan's conversation had gone.

Lorelai told him what they discussed and Logan's current plans. Then she suddenly remembered something.

"Where did my mother go? Did you see?"

"Oh right. I don't know she rushed off." Luke rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. He felt bad for losing track of Emily.

Lorelai dug her phone out of her purse. There was one text message and it was from Emily. Emily never texted, she barely knew how to email. The message was just a few words:

" _I went to find a hotel."_

"Okay, apparently she went to find a hotel." Lorelai frowned.

"I'm sure she'll be fine." Luke said.

"I'll call her on the way back. She could have stayed with us… in Rory's room."

"On her twin bed in that small room?"

"Good point." Lorelai was still a little worried about her mother.

"So are we heading home then?" Luke asked.

"Yeah. It's kind of depressing sticking around here and you've never been comfortable in hospitals." Lorelai wrapped her arm around his waist and squeezed his side gently.

His arm came around her and he pressed a kiss to her temple. They headed back out the main doors and to the parking lot.

Once they got home, Luke made a quick meal of spaghetti and meatballs. Lorelai ate it all and a dessert of a slice of apple pie. She knew she had to eat and rest. They went to bed early, the sun was still up but they closed the curtains to make the room as dark as possible.

Lorelai snuggled up to Luke, laying her head on his chest. He ran his fingers through her hair.

"How am I going to sleep when my mind is still racing?" She asked him, knowing that it was a tough question.

He continued combing through her hair as he cleared his throat and spoke.

"I'm sure we can get at least a couple hours of sleep. Do you want to try counting sheep or something?"

That made Lorelai laugh. Luke smiled at the sound.

"Well at least I'm comfortable in my own bed, next to you." She said gently.

He stopped moving his fingers and pulled his hands away. Lorelai lifted her head and looked into his eyes. Her eyes were watery, he noticed, like she was about to start crying.

They kept eye contact as they leaned in and their lips met in a tender kiss. Luke deepened the kiss and Lorelai responded by moving her hand to the back of his neck. They kissed passionately for a bit.

Lorelai was the one to pull back. A tear had fallen on her cheek and Luke wiped at it with the pad of his thumb.

"I love you." He said, voice breaking.

Lorelai smiled softly. "And I love you."

She kissed him once more then said they should try to get some rest. He immediately agreed.

They laid back, Lorelai staying close. He wrapped an arm around her waist before she could reach for him. Sleep came to both of them about an hour and a half later, when their minds calmed down and the scary thoughts were pushed away.

* * *

Meanwhile, Logan was in his hotel room in Hartford. He had ordered a pizza, but he barely touched it.

"God Rory, why did this have to happen to you?" he muttered. He sighed heavily and sat on the bed.

 _Just when I thought we could finally get things right and be happy together._ He thought.

He rubbed his face and ran a hand through his hair. Quickly deciding he needed a shower, he got up and pulled his shirt off then got clean clothes out of his suitcase. He headed into the bathroom, closing the door behind him a little too loudly.

After he got out of the shower, Logan checked his emails. When he saw one from his mother, he ignored it. He surfed the web for a bit, looking up information on comas.

It was nearly midnight by the time he finally lied down and shut his eyes. Sleep came quickly as he was exhausted, but he woke up a few hours later after having a nightmare.

He stayed awake and waited an hour before heading back to the hospital.

* * *

Luke woke up to take a sip of water from the cup that was on the nightstand. He turned over to Lorelai's side when he heard her whisper: "Hmm."

"You're up already." Luke was a little shocked.

Lorelai was typing on her cell phone, fingers expectedly tapping away at the touch screen.

"Hmm? Oh yeah I've been up for a little bit." She looked at him and bit her lip. "I woke you."

"No. I was thirsty."

She nodded and turned her attention back to her phone.

"What are you doing?" He asked, then yawned and rubbed his eyes.

"I'm looking up information about grandparents' rights. I want Owen to be with us."

"What?"

"What I just said, I want Owen to live here so I'm seeing what we'll have to do to make that happen."

"But Lorelai, Logan is here now and he's staying right?"

"Yeah but he isn't ready to be a father. I was a mother to an infant, I had experience. I was mature for my age; Logan seems to be still stuck in his twenties. I still see him that way… he's the guy who broke Rory's heart."

"But he's Owen's father." Luke protested. "You can't just take his son from him."

"I'm not taking him. He'll be allowed to visit. He's planning on living in New York, Luke. That's three hours away. And he doesn't have anything ready; he'll have to rush to get everything. Owen should be released in a few days at the most unless something goes wrong." Lorelai objected.

"Okay, but you can't blame him for being unprepared; he didn't know this was going to happen. You have to give him time to come to terms with being a father. I had to jump into it when I found about April and I went about it the wrong way, shutting you out. Logan has the chance to be there from the start and if he's smart he'll man up and be responsible." Luke took a breath and gently touched Lorelai's knee. She kept eye contact with him and listened.

"Just please give him the chance to be a father, Lorelai, give him what Anna refused me. He hasn't got the best track record and he isn't my favourite person, but he is Owen's father and he seems to be determined to be here. Don't fight him." He pleaded.

Lorelai sighed and furrowed her brow. "You're totally right." She looked down. "What was I thinking? I saw how not knowing about April and not having the chance to be her dad affected you… I just got in my own head and started imagining us raising our grandchild and I…" She stopped.

A minute passed before Lorelai looked at her phone again. "Maybe we can just have Owen one day of the week or so. We need to sort it out with Logan. You're right; I can't take his son from him, that would be unjustified. I thought maybe we could have guardianship and let Logan visit but that would never work out. He probably wants to bring Owen home once he gets an apartment and the baby supplies."

"Yeah," Luke said gently. "We can't take a newborn baby away from his father, even if we have his best interests at heart." He patted her knee. "I can see you just want Owen to be safe and healthy, but I don't know about him staying with us for a long amount of time. We don't even know when Rory will wake up."

"Ugh, Rory doesn't even have a will or any sort of legal document. She was going to be a new mother and she planned on getting help from us when possible and she just… never saw any of this coming. She was basically going to be a single mother and let Logan visit whenever he wanted. How could she have known that she'd get in an accident and fall in a coma and that Logan would leave Odette and move back?" Lorelai spoke quickly and let out a shaky breath.

"She couldn't have known…" Luke said quietly. "This whole situation is a mess, but we'll make it work."

Lorelai put her phone down and cuddled up to him, seeking comfort. She started crying again.

"Shh. It's okay. I'm here." Luke whispered as he rested his chin atop her head.

"She needs to wake up soon. I need my baby girl back. She needs to meet her baby boy… I…" Lorelai sobbed.

"I know. Shh." Luke held her tightly and soothed her with his words and a gentle hand rubbing her back.

Lorelai calmed down after a bit and they got ready to go back to the hospital.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning,Logan anxiously waited for Luke and Lorelai by the entrance of the hospital. He texted Lorelai, letting her know that he was there. She replied and told him that they would be there soon.

Emily called Lorelai and said she'd be there in the afternoon. Lorelai was still a little worried about her mother, but she tried to push those feelings away and focus on right now. Logan would be seeing Rory today. Lorelai was curious to see how he would react. Rory had never really talked to Lorelai about her affair with Logan; she usually changed the subject when it came up. Lorelai wondered if a part of Rory had still been in love with Logan and vice versa.

Luke took her hand once they stepped out of the car into the hospital parking lot. They walked hand in hand. They spotted Logan from a few feet away.

"Hi." Lorelai greeted him casually.

Logan nodded, "Hi."

It was awkwardly silent for a minute until Luke spoke.

"So I guess we'll head to Rory's room?"

The three of them slowly made their way to the ICU and Rory's room. Lorelai glanced from Luke to Logan before she hesitantly opened the door to Rory's room.

A nurse was in the room, checking Rory's vitals.

Logan made a noise that was a mix between a gasp and a sob. Lorelai and Luke were a little shocked to hear it. They had been looking at the nurse and Rory, but they couldn't help but look at Logan when they heard him.

"Wow." Logan muttered under his breath. Seeing Rory for the first time was overwhelming. He hated it. She looked so lifeless. _She doesn't deserve this_ , was his immediate thought. He carefully stepped up to the bed.

Luke and Lorelai introduced themselves to the nurse and told him who Logan was.

"Um… so has there been any change in her condition?" Logan asked the nurse.

The nurse shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry. There's no sign of her waking up anytime soon."

Logan bit his lip as he continued to stare at Rory.

The nurse excused himself and left the room. Lorelai went to the opposite side of Rory's bed and took her hand.

"Hi hon. I don't know if you can hear me, but we're here." She swallowed and let out a breath. "Luke, Logan and I are here."

Logan glanced at Lorelai then back down at Rory. "Do you… do you believe she can hear you?"

"I don't know… I mean I like to believe she can but then I think there's no way because she'd wake up." Lorelai sighed. "It doesn't really make sense. You know, my mind's all jumbled."

Logan just nodded. Luke stepped up behind Lorelai and she reached back for his hand. He placed a hand on her shoulder and she put her own hand on top of his.

"Hey Ace." Logan said gently. He reached out to touch her face but then stopped. "I wish you would wake up so you could see our son. Uh… Owen is pretty cute."

After a minute of silence, Lorelai rubbed her face and sighed. "I need some coffee."

"I'll got get you a cup." Luke offered.

Lorelai scrunched her nose and pouted. "Hospital coffee sucks compared to yours, but it'll have to do."

Luke just nodded. He asked Logan if he wanted anything.

"Oh no, I'm fine thank you."

Luke left the room and Lorelai told him she'd meet him in the cafeteria.

Lorelai squeezed Rory's hand and wiped at a tear on her cheek then stepped away from the bed. She took a seat on the only chair in the room.

Logan found that he couldn't look away from Rory. It was like looking at a train wreck. He kept finding new bruises or cuts on her body and he cringed. He tried to imagine what the car crash must have been like. He figured Rory's last thought before losing consciousness was probably of their baby.

"See you later, Ace." He managed to whisper. For some reason it was easier to use her nickname rather than her name. He walked over to Lorelai who was still sitting. He face was in her hands and she was silent.

"Um Lorelai?"

It took Lorelai a minute to compose herself. Logan noticed tear stains on her cheeks. She cleared her throat.

"Sorry… I just…"

"I understand." Logan answered. He knew this had to be twenty times harder for Lorelai.

"So, I'm going to go back to my hotel for a bit. There's better internet service there and I was going to see if there are any job openings in Hartford. I have a couple interviews in New York in a couple days but I need to see if anything's available here."

"Oh okay." Lorelai replied. "Good luck." She added with a small smile.

"Thanks. I'll stay in touch. I think I'll come back later today to see Owen."

"All right,"

Logan left the room without saying another word.

"Drive safe." Lorelai whispered when she found herself looking at Rory again.

* * *

Luke was about to leave the cafeteria to find Lorelai when he saw her coming ten minutes later. She had gone to the bathroom to collect herself. She even put a little makeup on, just the eyeliner and lipstick that was in her purse.

"Hey." Luke said gently as she approached him.

She took the coffee he held out and sipped it cautiously.

Luke looked at her more closely and noticed the makeup. Lorelai caught him looking.

"I just didn't want to look like the Cryrptkeeper anymore." She told him.

Luke shrugged, "You looked fine."

She nudged him gently. "You have to say that, husband."

Luke didn't reply. He gestured for her to sit and she did.

"So Emily said she's coming this afternoon, right?" He asked.

"Yep,"

"Okay and the NICU visiting hours don't start 'til noon so what do you want to do until then?"

"Can you take me to the Inn? And then you could go check out the diner, make sure Caesar didn't hire Kirk or anything."

"Sure." Luke answered simply.

Lorelai called Michel at the Inn and told him she'd be stopping by. Luke got out of the truck with Lorelai when they arrived.

"Call me when you're ready to go back to the hospital."

"I will." She replied.

Before she could turn away and walk up the steps in the Inn, he pulled her into his embrace.

She sighed. He could tell she was pretending to be fine when she really wasn't. She hugged him back, wrapped her arms around his neck.

When she kissed his cheek and started to pull back, he tightened his hold of her and leaned in to kiss her on the lips.

They shared a few soft kisses of comfort before finally pulling apart. Lorelai saw a tear slide down his face and her heart sank. She reached up and wiped at it with her thumb.

"I'll see you soon." She whispered.

He nodded his short Luke nod and gave her a tiny smile. He turned around and got back in the truck and slowly drove off.

Lorelai turned and walked up the steps and into the Inn. She was immediately greeted by Sookie, who practically tackled her.

Sookie wouldn't let go and Lorelai held onto her just as tightly.

When Sookie finally pulled away, her brow furrowed and she said: "I'm so sorry, honey. I don't know what else to say… I just…" She let out a deep breath.

"It's okay, I know Sook." Lorelai said with a small smile.

Michel came over then. He looked between Sookie and Lorelai a few times before he stepped up to them.

"Lorelai, I am truly sorry." Michel said sympathetically.

"Thank you, Michel." Lorelai knew he was sincere and she appreciated it. She was also saying thank you for taking over the Inn temporarily.

They walked back to Lorelai's office and chatted for a bit. She told them that Rory's condition hadn't changed and they told her the Inn was running smoothly, there was nothing to worry about.

"Hey Lorelai?" Sookie asked.

Lorelai turned her attention to Sookie.

"Would I be able to visit Rory?"

"Oh um I don't know… Logan was able to but he's sort of family now since he's the father of Owen." Lorelai wasn't certain if family friends were able to visit patients in the ICU, she'd have to ask.

"Oh yeah, how's Owen?" Sookie questioned.

"He's doing well. He has to stay in the hospital a little longer though. He's very cute; he could give Prince George a run for his money."

"Oh but Prince George is three or four… not a newborn." Sookie replied.

"I know, I meant when he was a newborn…" Lorelai laughed a little. It was nice to joke around a little, not be serious for a moment.

"Frederic is with our little one right now, thankfully." Michel grimaced.

"If you didn't want to adopt Michel, you shouldn't have signed those adoption papers." Lorelai said.

"Fredric wanted him…. I can deal with the child, at least he's not in diapers anymore." Michel replied. His adopted son was six years old. There wasn't any babies available when they adopted him a few months ago.

"'The child', you can't even call your son by his name. What was it again?" Sookie chimed in.

"His name is Leroy, I know his name. I just call him the child when he annoys me..." Michel scowled.

Lorelai and Sookie just rolled their eyes. The three of them chatted a little bit more before Sookie and Michel had to get back to work. Lorelai felt a little bad about them taking over for her but they insisted they could handle it. Michel surprised Lorelai by offering her a quick hug when she left.

* * *

A couple hours later, Luke and Lorelai returned to the hospital. On the drive back there, Luke told Lorelai that Caesar and his other employees were handling the diner fine, but Kirk was there asking a lot of questions and he had to tell him about Rory.

"That's okay." Lorelai said.

"Really? You don't care if the townies know?"

"Rory is sort of their kid too… and they were all excited about Owen being born. And besides, it's not as if they're going to come to the hospital to visit."

"You think so? I wouldn't put it pass them." Luke deadpanned.

Lorelai just shrugged. The townies would be able to meet Owen once he came home with them. _If he comes home with us._ She reminded herself. _Logan might want to take him home if he finds a place and he feels like he's ready._

Emily called Lorelai while she and Luke were still on route to the hospital. She said she would meet them near the NICU.

Logan showed up when Emily was in the NICU with her grandson.

"How's Emily doing?" He asked Luke and Lorelai.

"I think Owen calms her. He gives us a little joy, which is what we all need right now." Luke said, surprising Lorelai.

"I agree with that." Logan said. He turned and looked at Emily through the window of the door.

Emily came out a few minutes later. She carefully took off her scrubs without looking at the three of them.

"Oh, Logan!" She exclaimed when she almost bumped into him.

"Hello, Emily." Logan smiled.

Emily frowned and stepped aside to whisper something to Lorelai.

"Uh, I'm just going to go see Owen." Logan said a little loudly.

"Wait a minute. I'd like to speak to you, Logan." Emily said tonelessly.

"Mom, I think he wants to visit Owen for a bit, can you wait?" Lorelai butted in.

"No, I'd prefer to speak to him now." Emily responded. She was clearly angry.

"All right," Logan gave in. He quickly took off his scrubs and followed Emily.

Luke and Lorelai stepped in the NICU room and walked over to Owen's incubator.

"His great grandmother lulled him to sleep. She's very good with him." The nurse on duty told them.

Lorelai smiled. That made her happy. Luke reached down and gently touched Owen's head.

"He should be able to go home in a couple days." The nurse said.

"Really? That soon?" Lorelai asked.

"Yep. He's responding well to the jaundice treatment and his weight is healthy. There are no other complications."

"That's great." Luke said.

"Yeah," Lorelai knew she would have to talk to Logan again soon. If Emily didn't skin him alive,

"Well we've got everything all ready at home." Luke told the nurse.

"We should put the car seat in the Jeep when we get back home." Lorelai said.

"Yeah," Luke agreed.

Rory's car had been totaled. She hadn't put the car seat in the car yet as she wasn't planning on giving birth for a couple more weeks when the accident happened.

Luke and Lorelai watched Owen sleep for a bit before they left the NICU area and tried to track down Emily and Logan.

* * *

 **Author's note: Thank you for reading, following and reviewing this story.  
Feedback is appreciated. **


	6. Chapter 6

Emily led Logan outside and several feet away from the hospital entrance.

"Emily, I …" Logan tried to start but he didn't know what to say. Then he wondered if he should have called her Mrs. Gilmore.

Emily held a hand up. "I need you to hear me out." She said.

Logan nodded. He kept eye contact with her although it was hard. She was pretty intimidating.

"I haven't heard much about what lead to Owen's conception, but I know that you and Rory weren't in a committed relationship."

"That's right." Logan said solemnly.

Emily took a few seconds to respond. She seemed to be surprised by his tone.

"Lorelai also mentioned that you broke off your engagement to that French heiress?"

"Yes." Logan answered simply.

"And did you come back here expecting Rory to jump in your arms and then the three of you could be a happy little family?"

Logan broke eye contact and bit his lip to keep from sighing. "Well, to tell you the truth, I was kind of hoping for that."

Emily gave him a disapproving look.

Logan continued: "But that was Rory's decision, if she just wanted to co-parent Owen and not be involved romantically, I would be fine with that. If she wanted no string attached, to be friends with benefits then I would do that." He immediately regretted saying that last sentence.

"Oh, so you would be booty buddies like Lorelai and Luke." Emily shook her head. "I still can't believe they finally got married last year."

Logan cringed at hearing her say the words 'booty buddies' then cleared his throat. "Look, Mrs. Gilmore, I don't know if you're trying to interrogate me or what, but I'd like to see my son before visiting hours are over."

Emily's brow furrowed. "I'll be done speaking to you when I'm done, young man." She met his gaze and continued speaking. "I thought you were right for Rory a long time ago and I was excited when you proposed, but Rory didn't want to be engaged so young and I respected her decision. Then the years passed and Rory never mentioned you and I thought she was over you but now we have a situation."

"A situation?"

"Yes. You two had a baby out of wedlock. I'm old fashioned and I'd prefer for my granddaughter to be married and have a steady job before she has a child." Emily sighed and looked down. "And now Rory is unable to do anything and I know she doesn't have a will…" She took in a sharp breath.

Logan still didn't know what to say. He didn't know how Emily would respond if he told her he wouldn't abandon Owen or Rory. _Would she believe him?_

"I want to trust you Logan." Emily said suddenly. She looked up at him. "But I just want Rory to wake up… I want to know what she wants. I guess she was planning on letting you visit Owen and be involved."

"Yeah, she was… and uh I obviously didn't ever see this happening but I am hoping to get a job in New York or even Hartford if possible. I want to be here for Owen, help raise him and eventually be his primary care giver if Rory's condition doesn't change within the next couple months." Logan said this slowly as he was thinking at the same time, imagining himself raising Owen.

"You're serious? Will do everything in your power to assure this baby has his father in his life?" Emily questioned.

Logan swallowed nervously and nodded, "Yes." He knew it would be hard, but he was up to the challenge. He knew Emily, Lorelai and probably Luke had their doubts about him, but he would do his best to prove them wrong. He vowed to be the best father he could be and stay by Rory's side even though she probably didn't know he was there.

"All right," Emily replied. "We'll see how long you last."

Logan had no response to that. He just kept eye contact with Emily for ten more seconds before turning around and heading back inside.

* * *

Emily waited in the lobby area downstairs for Luke and Lorelai. Logan made his way back to the NICU. Once he got his scrubs back on and stepped inside, he noticed Luke and Lorelai were no longer there. He wondered where they went.

Owen was still asleep and Logan slowly stepped up to his incubator. The nurse came over and asked him if he was Owen's father.

"Yeah," Logan said gently. He slowly reached down and gently touched Owen's little arm.

"As I told his grandparents, he'll be ready to go home in a couple days."

"Oh wow, that soon?" Logan was a little surprised.

"Yep. He's a little fighter and the jaundice treatment worked well. He's pretty healthy and I don't expect that to change within two days."

"That's great." Logan smiled. He stayed there for a few more minutes, watching Owen sleep. He knew he had to go find Lorelai and Luke.

* * *

Logan went to the cafeteria and ate a quick lunch before walking back to the lobby area where he found Luke and Lorelai sitting. There was a free chair next to Luke and he claimed it.

He greeted them politely and asked where Emily had gone.

"She headed back to her hotel nearby. She said she needed some rest." Lorelai informed him.

Logan nodded. "So uh, the nurse in the NICU told me that Owen will be ready to go home in a couple days… we need to talk about the arrangements."

Luke opened his mouth to say something then closed it again He placed a hand on Lorelai's knee.

"You said you have a job interview in New York soon, right?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah so I'd be fine with you two taking Owen back to Stars Hollow for the time being. You said everything's already set up there?" Logan responded.

"The nursery is ready, but are you really fine with that? Us taking Owen home?" Lorelai inquired.

"Yeah, I am. There are no jobs in Hartford right now and I already have the interview in New York. I have money to buy all the things he would need but I've got no job and no place to live permanently. I have no problems with you two temporarily taking care of Owen. I know he'll be happy and safe in your care and I just don't think I have the means to care for him right now." Logan let out a breath. "I'm not signing away custody or anything and I'll visit him when I can if you'll let me of course."

"We'll let you visit. You are his father." Luke said sternly.

Lorelai noticed that he had become tense and imagined that he must be thinking about missing out on April's early years. She patted his hand then turned her attention back to Logan.

"We'll definitely keep in touch, Logan. I wouldn't want to keep Owen from you. He needs at least one of his parents right now. I would never want to fight you for custody in court or anything… I don't think we have to get the law involved in order for Luke and me to take him home but I'll look more into it. I appreciate the fact that you're allowing us to take him for now." She said.

Logan smiled. "Thank you for being so understanding and doing what's best for Owen. I'll stop by tomorrow before I catch a train to New York." He held out his hand.

It took Lorelai a second before she reached out and shook his hand. It was like they were making a business deal. She didn't blame him for treating it like one; he was probably used to making deals and working with customers. For some reason she was reminded of when he came to ask her for her permission to ask Rory to marry him. Little did she know then that Logan would not become her son-in-law, but instead he would be the father of her grandson without being married to Rory.

"Okay. We'll see you tomorrow morning." Lorelai said quickly when she let go of his hand.

Luke also shook Logan's hand. They said their goodbyes and Logan left.

"I didn't expect that to go over so well. I wonder if your mother scared him or something." Luke said once Logan out of sight.

"Yeah I know." Lorelai whispered. "But we just have to hope he keeps his word. I think Rory would want to trust him but I can't help but be a little wary still."

"Yeah me too, but I think he already loves Owen as much as we do." Luke said as he took Lorelai's hand.

Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "As much as us? I don't think so."

Luke smiled and squeezed her hand. "Let's go home and make sure everything will be ready for him in a couple days and then we can hopefully get some sleep tonight." He frowned.

Lorelai held onto his hand tightly and slowly stood up, then tried to pull him up. He groaned and stood too. His back was aching.

"We do need some sleep." She admitted as she pulled him out of the lobby.

* * *

Later that night, Luke and Lorelai lied in bed watching a Lifetime movie. They weren't really paying attention to it as Luke was drifting off and Lorelai was playing with his hand while she thought about things.

Luke shifted and Lorelai dropped his hand. He slowly got out of bed, put on the T-shirt that he had removed earlier.

"Where are going?" She asked frantically.

He turned around and gave her a reassuring smile, "Just the bathroom."

She smiled back but he could tell it was a fake smile. He went into the bathroom and came out as fast as he could.

Luke got back in bed leaned over to kiss Lorelai's temple.

"Are you okay? Wait that's a stupid question, sorry." He became nervous all of a sudden. He just wanted her to be happy and there was no way to make her happy right now. Not unless he could somehow magically heal Rory.

"Let's just try to get some sleep." Lorelai said gently.

"Okay." Luke blinked when he felt his eyes get watery. He moved back and turned off the lamp on his nightstand.

Lorelai glanced at him before she turned to turn off the lamp on her side. She saw a tear roll down his cheek.

"Oh hon." She sniffed.

He turned to face her and she kissed his cheek twice.

"I was just thinking about my dad… remembering when he was sick, his last days. Seeing Rory in the hospital reminded me of that and I hate it."

"I'm sorry." Lorelai whispered before she kissed his cheek once more. She took his hand again and brushed the back of it with her thumb.

Luke kissed her temple again. "But that's in the past and right now we need to try to be positive and hope that Rory will wake up sooner rather than later. And Owen needs us now."

Lorelai agreed but she spoke up. "It happened years ago, but you can still be sad about it. You can still feel things, Luke. You don't need to be strong for me. I wish I could have been there for you when your dad passed… you were there for me when my dad did." She felt chills as she remembered the day Richard died. "I know you'll never leave and I won't either but I'm just… I don't know, scared of what's to come."

"You mean you're scared of what will happen to Rory?"

She nodded. "And Owen. What if we can't handle him? I mean we're not exactly in our prime, Luke." Lorelai shuddered as she reminded herself of their ages. They weren't old, she would never say that, but they weren't young either.

"We can do it." Luke said bluntly. "I know we can."

Lorelai smiled at him, amazed at his faith in her and himself. "And I'm sure my mom will want to help out as much as she can. Oh, and the town. Kirk will probably offer to babysit." She cringed as she imagined Kirk holding Owen.

Luke smirked. "I'm not letting Kirk anywhere near Owen."

"I know." Lorelai said. She yawned. "Let's try to sleep."

"Hmm," Luke muttered before he yawned too.

Lorelai turned her lamp off then turned back to Luke and found his lips in the dark. She kissed him once then lied down.

He lied down and got comfortable. A few minutes passed before Lorelai rolled over and snuggled up to him.

They managed to get six hours of sleep that night.

* * *

 **Author's note: Thanks for reading. Reviews are always appreciated.**


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning, Logan arrived at the hospital earlier than Luke and Lorelai. He went straight to the ICU area and waited outside until visiting hours started.

When he stepped in Rory's room, he purposely avoided looking at the bed until he calmed himself down and prepared for the sight. Rory still looked the same. He sighed and slowly stepped up to her bed.

"Hey Rory," He whispered as he took her left hand. He remained silent as he examined her more closely.

"Look, I don't know if you can hear me, but you need to wake up soon. Our son needs you, you mother and Luke need you… and I need you."

He sighed heavily and let go of her hand then stepped away. "I have to go away for a little while but I'll be back." He muttered although he doubted Rory could hear him. And even if she could, she couldn't respond.

* * *

Logan was already out of the hospital and on his way to the train station by the time Lorelai and Luke arrived. He texted Lorelai to let her know he already visited Rory.

Emily had called Lorelai early that morning to tell her that she didn't want to visit Rory today. This upset Lorelai which led to a small argument. Emily said she couldn't bear to see Rory like that again.

" _Well, what do you think it's like for me?" Lorelai asked furiously. "That's my baby girl."_

" _I know it's harder for you Lorelai… look I just need a day to rest. Is that allowed?" Emily replied. She sounded annoyed._

" _Fine." Was all Lorelai said before she hung up._

After she and Luke visited Rory that morning and left the ICU area, Lorelai found the nearest bench and flopped down onto it.

"I wish my dad was here." She said suddenly. There was a sudden ache in her heart and this was one of those days where she deeply missed her father's presence. Having another family member with her while Rory was in this condition would be comforting, she thought.

Luke wrapped an arm around her and rubbed her shoulder. He didn't know what to say. You could only say _"It will be okay"_ so many times before those words really started to lose their meaning.

"I don't even remember the last time I told Rory I loved her, what if she dies and she didn't know how much I love her? I didn't get to tell Dad and he probably thinks I hated him." Lorelai sputtered.

"He knew you loved him, trust me." Luke said, remembering his last conversation with Richard Gilmore.

* * *

 _It was Fall of 2015. Luke and Lorelai were at dinner at the Gilmore house. They no longer had Friday night dinners, but they came to dinner about once a month. After dessert, Richard asked Luke if he could speak to him in the study._

" _Oh uh sure," Luke glanced at Lorelai nervously._

 _Lorelai shrugged. She had no idea what her father wanted from Luke. She silently wished him luck._

 _Luke got up and followed Richard into the study. Richard shut the door behind them and urged Luke to sit across from him._

" _Would you like a cigar, Luke? They're Romeo y Julietas."_

" _Oh no thanks… I'm not really a cigar kind of guy." Luke said awkwardly. He fidgeted in his seat._

 _Richard put the box of cigars away without removing any of them. He took a deep breath. "So, you and Lorelai have been in a steady relationship for… what? Eight years now?"_

 _Luke nodded. "Over eight years now."_

" _Any plans for marriage? I know Emily's asked Lorelai this but I'm asking you since the man usually proposes."_

 _Luke frowned as he remembered Lorelai proposing the first time around. Did Richard and Emily not know about that?_

" _Uh no actually, we're happy the way we are."_

" _Hmm." Richard murmured as he looked away from Luke for a second. "And I assume you won't have any children of your own?"_

" _No." Luke answered quickly. That ship had sailed a many years ago. There was the miscarriage in 2009 that no one but Lorelai, himself and Rory knew about. After that, they decided to not try again._

" _A pity," Richard said softly._

 _Luke cleared his throat. "Well, we're happy if that's what you're worried about. We don't need to be married and we don't need kids to be happy."_

" _I can tell you make Lorelai happy. When she was married to Christopher, something about her was off… maybe marriage just isn't for her." Richard said._

 _Luke didn't reply. He didn't like to think about Lorelai's brief marriage to Christopher._

" _And how's April?" Richard asked, bringing Luke out of his thoughts._

" _She's great." Luke was surprised Richard had remembered April's name. He had only met her a handful of times over the years._

" _Did you just want to know if Lorelai and I were planning on getting married or having kids?" Luke asked a little hesitantly._

 _Richard stared at him for a few seconds before replaying, "I just like to see that Lorelai and Rory are happy… yes, I wanted to know if it was a joint decision, not getting married. Sometimes it seems like Lorelai hides her feelings… I know she doesn't tell Emily or me everything and I just wanted to hear about it from you."_

 _Luke nodded slowly. He didn't want to mention the miscarriage. Lorelai wanted to keep it to themselves and Rory. And Rory only knew about it because she was in town when it happened. "Well I love Lorelai and Rory and I'm happy with Lorelai… I wouldn't leave her because she doesn't want to have kids or get married. Those were joint decisions. Lorelai can be stubborn, but we've come a long way from where we were when the engagement was broken."_

 _Richard smiled softly. "I know how Lorelai can be… but she clearly loves you and I respect your joint decisions. Emily seems to be more disapproving of you two living together for all these years without being married, but I'm fine with it. I hope Lorelai can see that. I don't want her to resent us over what happened over thirty years ago when we wanted her to marry Christopher."_

 _Luke frowned and shook his head. "I think she knows that you have let that go and you did see that she was unhappy married to him. She disagrees with you about a lot of things… I do too." He pressed his lips together. "But I know she still loves you." He didn't know if it was out of line for him to say this, to speak for Lorelai. But he could see that she still loved her parents although their relationship was far from perfect._

 _Richard smiled again and whispered "Thank you." He patted Luke on the back as they exited the room._

* * *

Lorelai turned and smiled at Luke. She believed him. She also remembered when Richard had talked to Luke at dinner that night. He hadn't told her every detail of their conversation but she knew what they had discussed. She figured that Richard had already put Luke on the family actuarial life table at that point.

"You always know what to say to make me feel better." She leaned her head on his shoulder. She still wished she could have told both Richard and Rory she loved them, but she knew she needed to focus on the fact that Rory was still with them and she had a new grandson to take care of.

"We better go pick up the rest of the baby supplies so everything is ready for Owen tomorrow." She said.

"Yep," Luke rubbed her shoulder one more time before he rose and held out a hand to her.

She smiled softly and took his hand. They walked out of the hospital hand in hand.

* * *

Owen slept on the car ride home the next afternoon. He didn't even wake when Lorelai lifted him out of the car seat.

"You're going to be an easy baby, aren't you, bubby?" Lorelai cooed.

"Don't jinx it." Luke said. He was nervous as he had never spent a night with a newborn and Lorelai hadn't in over thirty two years.

Lorelai didn't respond as she stepped past Luke and headed for the house. Luke rushed ahead to open the door for her. He was carrying the diaper bag.

As soon as Lorelai sat down on the couch, Owen whimpered and opened his eyes.

"Aww, it's okay, you're home now. You're safe." Lorelai whispered to him.

"Do you uh think he wants a bottle?" Luke asked.

"Maybe," Lorelai shifted Owen in her arms. He was wailing now.

"I'll go make one." Luke headed to the kitchen.

"Are you sure hon? You've never made one before."

"I can handle it." Luke assured her. They were starting with a liquid formula as recommend by the NICU nurses.

Luke returned a few minutes later with a bottle. Lorelai trusted him and didn't ask if he prepared it right. He sat next to her and passed it to her. She held the bottle to Owen's mouth and he sucked it right away.

Lorelai smiled at him and Luke also looked down at him. They silently watched Owen for a couple minutes until he stopped sucking.

"Now what?" Luke asked.

"He needs to be burped. Why don't you try? You've burped Doula, right?"

Luke bit his lip. "That was over ten years ago and she was a lot bigger."

"Well the last time I was with a baby was a few years ago too. You should know how to handle him, Luke. We're in this together. We're his temporary caregivers and we both need to be comfortable with him, and make him feel safe." Lorelai needed to know that he was one hundred percent okay with this responsibility and that he could handle everything. They had agreed to split up the days of the week, she would stay at home Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays and he would on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, then they would both be home on Saturday.

"Right," Luke said softly. He held out his arms and Lorelai passed Owen to him.

She directed him, "Put him against your shoulder, and make sure to support his head. Now pat his back."

Luke did what she said and Owen let out a couple little burps.

"There, that wasn't hard, was it?"

"I guess not." Luke pulled Owen away from his shoulder and frowned when he felt something wet on his flannel shirt.

"Oops I forgot to give you a burp cloth." Lorelai tried not to laugh.

Luke grimaced and gently passed Owen back to her. "I'm gonna go change my shirt."

Lorelai giggled. "Okay, we'll be here."

Luke returned a few minutes later wearing his old olive green T-shirt which he usually wore to bed.

"Hey, can you hold him while I phone Michel and let him know I'll be coming back to work on Wednesday?" It was a Monday.

"Sure." Luke responded as he sat down. He took Owen from her and she left the room and headed into the kitchen.

When Lorelai hung up the phone ten minutes later, she heard Luke talking to Owen.

"I hope you know you don't have to be scared. Your mom can't be with you now but we're here and we'll do our best to make sure you're happy." He was talking in a low voice, but Lorelai could still hear him from the kitchen.

As she walked into the room, she tried not to let her facial expression show that she had heard him. Luke could tell right away, however.

"You heard me." He turned red.

"It was sweet, hon." Lorelai sat next to him again and reached out to caress his cheek.

"He doesn't understand though… I just thought he looked… I don't know, concerned."

Lorelai smiled, "Really?"

Luke just shrugged.

They sat there and watched Owen for a bit until Luke noticed his diaper needed to be changed.

"I'll handle the first poopy diaper, Grandpa, since you took the first burping without a burp cloth." Lorelai held out her arms and Luke placed Owen in them.

Luke gave her a grateful smile. She left the room with Owen. Luke sighed and slouched in his seat, leaning his head back.

* * *

Later that night, they got Owen settled down and put him in the bassinet in their bedroom. The three of them slept for about an hour and a half before Owen work up crying.

This woke both Luke and Lorelai although Luke was usually a heavy sleeper.

"You've got work tomorrow; I'll take care of him." Lorelai patted Luke's shoulder.

Luke gave her a small smile and lied back down.

Lorelai got up four times that night. Luke woke up each time Owen cried, so he didn't get much sleep either. They were both exhausted and Luke slept through his alarm. It automatically shut off; both of them were oblivious to it.

Luke woke a half hour later and gasped when he saw the time.

"Damn it." He muttered under his breath. He got out of bed as quickly as possible, his joints protesting.

When he came back after showering, Lorelai and Owen weren't in the bedroom. He found them downstairs in the kitchen. Lorelai was feeding Owen.

Lorelai gasped when she saw him. "I thought you were already gone. Did the alarm not go off?"

"I think we just didn't hear it… we didn't wake up." Luke shook his head. "Man, I feel exhausted."

Lorelai gave him a sad smile, "I feel you. Well, if the diner gets to be too much, you can always take a break and put Caesar in charge for a little while."

"I'll be fine." Luke said quickly. He put a bagel in the toaster.

"Uh hon?"

"Hmm?" Luke wasn't paying attention. He was trying to imagine what was happening at the diner right now. He figured Caesar opened for him and he trusted him but he still worried it would be chaos when he got there.

"You're gonna eat a bagel? I thought you hated bagels? Even multigrain ones,"

"Ah damn, you're right. I wasn't thinking, I just wanted something fast." Luke groaned.

Lorelai gave him a sympathetic smile. The last time she remembered seeing him this frantic was when April had her first date. She was in New Mexico and he hated that he couldn't meet the young man his daughter was going out with. In his mind, no one was good enough for April or Rory.

Luke filled the kettle with water and turned it on. He grabbed a banana and peeled it quickly then took a bite.

When the bagel popped up, he offered it to Lorelai who scrunched her nose. She thought multigrain bagels were disgusting. He had been trying to get her to eat them for years although he though all kinds of bagels were unhealthy. He sighed and threw it in the trash.

Once Luke had eaten his plain oatmeal and drank his tea, he offered to take Owen while Lorelai made her breakfast.

"I can skip breakfast. You have to get to the diner." Lorelai objected.

"You have to eat, even if you only eat crap."

Lorelai stuck her tongue out at him and went to the freezer and took out an unopened box of Eggos. She put two in the toaster and turned on the coffee maker while she waited.

When Lorelai finished eating, she took Owen from Luke. He said a quick goodbye to both of them and rushed out the door.

Lorelai stepped in Rory's room and lied down on her bed. She cradled Owen close and kissed the top of his head.

"I love you, baby boy." She whispered to him, feeling the need to say it.

* * *

Thanks for reading. Please feel free to leave a review.


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning, Lorelai was awoken by the sound of her cell phone ringing. She was surprised that Luke's alarm or Owen hadn't woken her. It was a little after eight A.M. She rolled over and reached for her phone which was on her nightstand.

"Hello?" She answered without looking at the caller ID. She hoped it was the hospital, updating her on Rory's condition.

"Hi Lorelai, I hope I'm not calling too early." Logan answered.

Owen suddenly woke up and started crying.

Lorelai quickly got out of bed. "No, you don't have to worry about that when I have a newborn baby here."

"Right… I wanted to ask about Owen, how is he?"

Lorelai told Logan to hang on a minute while she picked up Owen and put the phone on speaker.

"Well, he just woke up and I'm about to change his diaper then he'll need to be fed." Lorelai said quickly.

"Oh and how were his first two nights at home?"

"Fine," Lorelai said casually.

"Oh good. So uh I've got my other job interview today but I'll come back to Hartford tomorrow and visit Rory and then I'll head to Stars Hollow to see Owen if that's okay?"

"Sure." Lorelai said as she started to change Owen's diaper.

"Okay. I'll just text you tomorrow then. Thanks." Logan said.

"Great. Bye Logan." Lorelai ended the call.

She finished changing Owen's diaper and let out a sigh of relief. Logan had been in the back of her mind the past two days. She was wondering when he'd be able to visit Owen.

Lorelai and Luke had agreed that she would stay home one more day before Luke would take over. Then they would stick to their schedule next week.

"How about some breakfast?" She said to Owen as if he would respond.

She made a bottle and spent the next few minutes feeding him. After that, she decided to go for a walk to the diner. The house felt strange without Luke and she felt like having pancakes at the diner.

* * *

Ten minutes later, she had Owen in his stroller and she was off. Her phone rang again as she was walking.

"Hi honey. I'm just checking in again. How's Owen?" It was Sookie.

"Hey Sook. We're fine. A little lack of sleep is nothing."

"And what about Rory? Any change?"

"No. Do you still want to come visit with me tomorrow before work?" Lorelai managed to convince the hospital to allow Sookie to visit Rory in the ICU.

"Of course. I can meet you at the hospital around eight o' clock." Sookie responded. "Michel will be at the Inn bright and early. I made him promise."

"Great. I'll see you tomorrow. Take care."

"You too,"

Lorelai ended the call and continued walking to Luke's. She was stopped once again when Miss Patty walked up to her.

"Oh Lorelai! I wasn't expecting to see you. Is this Rory's little boy?"

Lorelai smiled softly. "Yep, this is Owen." She pulled back the stroller cover so Miss Patty could get a better look.

"Oh he's adorable." Miss Patty gushed.

Lorelai smiled again but that smile fell when Miss Patty asked about Rory.

"Her condition hasn't changed." Lorelai murmured.

"Oh I'm sorry dear." Miss Patty put a hand to her heart.

They were silent for few seconds.

"We're all praying for her. I hope you and Luke are doing alright with this little one. Babies are a handful… or so I've heard."

Lorelai nodded. "We can handle him. It's tough, but we also have Owen's father involved so…" She trailed off.

"That's Logan right?" Miss Patty asked.

"Yeah,"

Miss Patty raised her eyebrows. "I remember when he came to town and Rory showed him around. He seemed like a nice boy. Not bad on the eyes either."

Lorelai nodded again. "Well he isn't abandoning Owen or Rory so he's in our good books. He's going to visit tomorrow."

Miss Patty smiled softly. "Well you and Luke let me know if you need anything."

"We will, thanks Patty." Lorelai flashed a smile then continued walking.

* * *

When she finally made it to Luke's, she let out a sigh of relief. A man who appeared to be a tourist was leaving the diner and he held the door open for her as she pushed Owen's stroller inside. She thanked him quickly then hurried over to the counter when she spotted Luke behind it.

"Hey." She called out.

Luke's was filling the coffee maker and his back was turned to her. Once he heard her voice, he turned around.

"Lorelai?" He didn't notice how close she was before he called out her name.

"Hi." Lorelai turned the stroller around and took a seat on a stool.

"What are you doing here? Is something wrong? Is Owen all right?" Luke was clearly distressed.

Lorelai frowned. "Oh, no. Don't worry. We're both fine. I just wanted a Luke's breakfast at Luke's. It's a beautiful day out so I decided to walk here, test out the stroller.

Luke let out a breath and his expression softened. "Oh okay." He muttered.

His hand was resting on the counter and Lorelai placed her hand on top of his and squeezed gently.

He smiled softly. "What would you like for breakfast?"

"Pancakes and bacon please," Lorelai replied.

"Comin' up," Luke turned back around and went to the kitchen to give the order to the cook.

Lorelai reached into the stroller and gently tickled Owen's toes and caressed his cheek. He seemed to be completely content.

Luke went back to filling the coffee maker and turned it on. There was only one other customer at the diner, a woman eating at the other end of the counter.

Lorelai looked around and noticed that they were the only people at the diner. "Woah, it's dead in her."

Luke frowned, "It's one of those weird lulls. I don't know where everyone is."

"Well I ran into Miss. Patty on the way here."

"Oh?"

"She met Owen and asked about Rory."

Luke just nodded. A couple other townies had been in there yesterday and asked about Rory too.

"Remind me to tell you to get a hold of April on Facebook." He said. April was currently in Germany. She didn't make it last summer and was there now for a couple weeks. She was also planning to go to The Netherlands.

"Sure." Lorelai responded. She was looking at Owen again.

"How was Owen this morning?"

"Good. He drank like a champ. Oh and Logan called. He's coming to visit tomorrow."

"Here? Stars Hollow?"

Lorelai nodded. "He's going to the hospital first and then he'll come visit. He said he'll text, but I'll be at work tomorrow and you'll be with Owen. Can I give him your number and tell him to text you instead?"

"You know I don't like texting."

"Then I'll tell him to call instead."

"Okay." Luke agreed.

Lorelai quickly sent a message to Logan. Her food was ready a few minutes later.

Luke noticed that she was eating slower than usual.

"So, I'll close early tonight and be home by eight." He said.

"Oh? Are you sure you want to do that? I don't mind being home alone with Owen."

Luke gave her a look. He knew she could handle Owen, but he thought an extra set of hands would be helpful too. And they could eat dinner together too.

"I'm sure." He said simply.

Lorelai gave him a grateful smile. She didn't admit that the house felt empty without him. She figured he already knew that. He could read her like a book most of the time.

The diner stared to get busy about ten minutes after Lorelai had finished eating. She stood up and turned Owen's stroller around so that he faced the counter.

"We better get back home." Owen had fallen asleep and Lorelai hoped he would still be sleeping by the time they got back home.

"Okay. Bye buddy." Luke leaned over the counter and looked down at Owen.

"Bye babe." Lorelai leaned over the counter and they kissed each other's cheeks.

* * *

Later that night, Luke returned home a little earlier than he said he would. He found Lorelai and Owen asleep on the couch. Owen was on Lorelai's chest.

Luke reached down and gently rubbed Lorelai's knee. This woke her up. She looked up and saw him.

"Hey." She whispered.

"Hey." He whispered back.

Lorelai glanced down at Owen who was still sleeping. She kissed the top of his head.

They watched Owen for a minute before Luke spoke again, "Do you want dinner? I can whip up something."

"I don't want to move and wake him up."

"Hmm… well I'll cook and maybe by the time it's ready he will have woken up."

Lorelai blinked then nodded. Luke left the room and headed to the kitchen. Lorelai shut her eyes again and tried to get a little more rest.

A few minutes later, the home phone rang. The sound woke Owen and he wailed.

"Ugh." Lorelai grumbled. "Shh it's okay baby." She slowly sat up and cradled Owen.

"I'll get it." Luke called from the kitchen.

"Thanks hon." Lorelai continued to try to calm down Owen.

"Hello?" Luke answered the phone on the fourth ring.

… "Okay she's right here." He said to the person on the other end. He walked back over to Lorelai.

'Who is it?' She mouthed to Luke as he held out the phone to her.

'Your mother,' He mouthed back.

Lorelai bit her lip. She didn't feel like talking to Emily. Owen was still crying.

Luke gestured for her to take the phone. She did, but she didn't hold it to her ear. Luke held out his arms, offering to take Owen.

Lorelai sighed but she handed Owen to Luke and after he walked back into the kitchen, she answered the phone.

"Hi Mom," Her voice was toneless.

"Hello Lorelai. I just wanted to let you know I visited Rory today and there's no change… I didn't see you or Luke at the hospital. Did you visit today?"

"No. We took Owen home the other day, remember?"

"Oh that's right. How is he?"

"He's good. Your typical newborn, keeps us up in the night."

"Are you getting enough sleep?" Emily pondered.

"No. I just said he keeps us up."

"I know Lorelai, but are you and Luke sharing the responsibility of caring for him? Or is it all too much for the both of you?"

"Of course we're sharing the responsibility and he's getting the care he needs. What do you think that Luke and I are incapable of caring for our grandson?" Lorelai suddenly became irritated. She didn't need to hear Emily's concerns right now.

"No, Lorelai. I just know it must be hard to care for a newborn at your age… and with Rory still in the coma showing no signs of recovery, you must worry." Emily's voice broke.

Lorelai let out a shaky breath. "Of course I worry about Rory, but I put all my energy into caring for Owen. Luke and I have a good system going, a plan." She told Emily about their work schedules.

"All right. I'm sorry if I sounded alarmed. I am allowed to worry about my daughter, son in law and great grandson, you know?"

"I know Mom." Lorelai said gently. "I'm sorry if I got a little defensive. This is overwhelming and I know you're just looking out for us."

Emily let out a deep breath.

"How are you Mom? Sorry I forgot to ask."

"I'm all right. I was thinking about your father today and I had a bit of a breakdown but, I'm okay now."

"Oh Mom, I'm sorry." Lorelai said sincerely. "I know Dad would have loved to meet Owen and he would be your rock… he would be a huge comfort right about now."

"You're right." Emily said gently.

"I still miss him every day, you know?" Lorelai choked.

Emily took a few seconds to respond. "I know." She said softly.

They were silent for about twenty seconds.

"I better go. I need some sleep. Take care Lorelai. I hope you can get at least a little bit of sleep."

"I will. And Sookie and I are visiting Rory before work tomorrow, maybe we'll see you there."

"Maybe. I was thinking I'd come see Owen."

Lorelai didn't want to tell her about Logan's plan to visit. "Sure. Okay… good night Mom."

"Good night Lorelai."

Lorelai got up and hung up the phone. She entered the kitchen and frowned when she didn't see Luke there.

"Luke? Where'd you go?" She didn't notice him walk by when she was on the phone.

"Upstairs. I need some help." He shouted down.

Lorelai rushed upstairs as fast as she could.

"Oh my god," She exclaimed when she got upstairs to the nursery.

Luke was bent over the changing table. He had a wipe in one hand and a clean diaper in the other. Owen was naked and he was filthy. He clearly needed not only a diaper change, but a bath.

"There's just so much of it… I don't know where to start." Luke murmured. He was clearly disgusted.

Lorelai stepped up next to him. She started giggling as she looked at Luke's face then back at Owen.

"It's not funny!" He snapped.

"It's a little funny." Lorelai bit her lip to try to stop giggling.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Can you help me please?" He was frustrated and a little ashamed. He felt bad that he had to ask for her help. He couldn't do that tomorrow when he would be left alone with Owen.

"Of course, but this is more than a dirty diaper, he needs a bath."

"Oh." Luke huffed.

Lorelai gently picked up Owen and carried him to the master bathroom. Luke started to follow, but she told him to bring the little baby bath they had purchased. He searched the nursery for it and finally found it a few minutes later.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Owen was clean and Luke started preparing dinner again while Lorelai fed Owen. After they ate, Luke and Lorelai sat down in front of the TV and watched an old movie that was on. They didn't really pay attention to it though, as Owen was distracting.

"So now that you know how to properly change a diaper and handle him in the bath and make a bottle, do you think you're ready for tomorrow?" Lorelai asked.

"I think so." Luke said confidently.

Lorelai smiled at him then moved closer. She shifted Owen in her arms then leaned back and rested her head on Luke's shoulder.

Luke kissed her hair. "Love you." He whispered.

Lorelai grinned. "Love you too."

They sat in a comfortable silence for a bit before Owen whimpered.

"Aww what's wrong sweets?" Lorelai cooed.

Luke gently took Owen from Lorelai's arms without saying a word. He held him close.

Owen stopped whimpering almost immediately.

"Aww he loves Grandpa. You two will be fine tomorrow." Lorelai said.

"Mm hmm," Luke murmured. He pressed a quick kiss to Owen's cheek.

Lorelai couldn't help but make an 'aww' noise again. She never imagined Luke to be that affectionate with a baby although she had seen him cuddle Doula before. Her heart skipped a beat as she felt sad all of a sudden. She regretted them choosing not to try for a baby again after her miscarriage years ago. But she kept that feeling of regret hidden from him.

"I'll put him to bed while you take a shower." Luke offered.

"Okay." Lorelai rubbed his arm affectionately then touched Owen's hand gently. She headed upstairs and Luke followed shortly after.

* * *

Meanwhile, Logan was packing his dress clothes in his suitcase. He was preparing to travel back to Hartford the next morning. Once he had finished packing, he ordered room service and sat on the bed to watch some TV while he waited for it.

There was a loud knock at the door and he knew it couldn't be the food he had just ordered. His curiosity got the best of him and he decided to open the door instead of just ignoring it and hoping the person would go away.

He gasped when he saw who was waiting on the other side.

"Mom?"

* * *

 **Author's note: This is the longest chapter yet.  
Thank you for reading, reviewing and following this story. Your feedback is always appreciated. **


	9. Chapter 9

" _Mom?"_

Shira stepped past Logan and entered his hotel room without asking permission.

"Logan… you look stressed." Shira gave her son the once over.

Logan sighed and shut the door. He turned to Shira.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to try to talk some sense into you."

Logan crossed his arms. "How'd you even know I was here?"

"Jack called me after your interview."

Jack was the man who had interviewed Logan earlier that day. He had no idea that the man knew his mother.

"Jack knows you? Or Dad?" Logan asked.

"He knows us, yes." Shira said tonelessly.

"Well he didn't tell me he knew you."

"Anyways, I can't believe you're here Logan. I can't believe you're doing this."

"Doing what? What am I doing?" Logan kept his arms crossed.

"Throwing everything away for some girl you had a fling with in college! Odette is a wonderful girl Logan, you two could be very successful. I can't believe you want to leave her to have some sort of fairy tale life with a woman you had an affair with."

Logan raised his eyebrows. "Rory is so much more than fling or an affair. She's the only woman I've ever loved!" He shouted. "And we have a child together. Owen needs me and I want to be with Rory." He lowered his voice. "But I can't."

"You can't?" Shira pondered, clearly intrigued.

"No, Mom I can't be with her right now because she's in a coma." Logan's voice broke as an image of Rory in the hospital flashed in his mind.

Shira was shocked into silence. She moved to take a seat on the bad.

Logan stared at her. He was a little surprised that Shira hadn't said something like Rory being in a coma was karma for going along with the affair, getting pregnant and keeping the baby.

"How did that happen? Is her child all right?"

"Our child you mean." Logan sputtered. "He's doing great, Lorelai and her husband are caring for him temporarily. Rory was in a car accident almost a week ago and they delivered Owen via C-section."

"Hmm. So Lorelai is raising your son with her husband?"

"Temporarily, yes, just until I get a job and a place." Logan answered calmly.

"Maybe it would be better if they raised him until Rory wakes up." Shira said.

"No. You don't get to come in here and tell me that." Logan raised his voice again.

Shira stood. "Come on Logan, you know nothing about raising a child. You've barely interacted with Honor's children." She smirked. "I can only imagine what Emily must think about this whole situation.

Logan frowned. He didn't know what to say. He just knew he no longer wanted to talk to his mother.

"You can't change my mind no matter what you say, so you might as well just leave." He said bitterly.

Shira made a 'tsk' sound. "I really can't believe you want to disgrace the Huntzberger name like this."

"Disgrace? How? By being a good father?"

"By leaving a good relationship for something so… second rate."

Logan made a sound that a mix of a cold laugh and a cough. "I didn't love Odette and she didn't love me. I never stopped loving Rory and I want to be with her and Owen. Those are the facts Mom and I could care less about you opinion. I am a thirty five year old man perfectly capable of making his own decisions."

Shira raided her eyebrows and pressed her lips together. "All right. I'll leave. Clearly I won't be able to change your mind. Have a nice life, Logan." With one last look at him, she was out the door.

"I will." Logan said to himself as he flopped down on the bed. _If Rory wakes up,_ his brain said.

* * *

The next morning, Owen's crying woke Luke and Lorelai up. It was only a little after six, so Luke said he would take care of Owen so Lorelai could sleep a little longer.

"Thank you." Lorelai said sleepily. She kept her eyes closed as she pressed a quick kiss to his cheek.

He quickly kissed her forehead then got out of bed. After he picked up Owen, he left the room and shut the door behind him.

Luke made a bottle with one hand as he held Owen. Owen didn't stop crying until the bottle was in his mouth.

Luke woke Lorelai an hour later. He offered to cook her breakfast but she said she'd just eat something quick. She was expecting traffic on the way to Hartford.

Once Lorelai was gone, Luke sat down on the couch, holding Owen.

'Well, it's just you and me for a little while, bud." He whispered.

* * *

Once Lorelai arrived at the hospital, she pulled up next to Sookie's car. Sookie was still inside and she got out once she noticed Lorelai.

Sookie immediately pulled Lorelai into a big hug. Lorelai smiled softly and felt herself tear up.

"Thanks for coming Sookie." Lorelai said when they pulled apart.

"You know I'm always here for you honey. And I love Rory."

They began walking to the hospital's main entrance.

When they were about twenty feet away, Sookie gasped.

Lorelai was lost in her thoughts. She looked up, "What?"

"Isn't that Christopher?"

Lorelai squinted and looked ahead. It was Christopher. He was sitting on one of the benches outside.

Lorelai was surprised to see him. He never visited after she told him about Rory. She and Sookie slowly walked up to him.

"Christopher. Um hi." Lorelai muttered awkwardly. She hadn't seen him for a long time.

Christopher looked up then smiled when he saw Lorelai and Sookie. "Hey Lor. Sookie."

"Are you here to visit Rory?" Lorelai asked although that was obviously the reason he was there.

"Yeah. I finally got a day off work. Is her condition the same? I haven't heard for you for a couple of days."

"Yeah sorry about that. I've been so busy with Owen and everything."

"Oh yeah? You brought him home right? How's he doing?"

"He's fine." Lorelai replied. She was becoming inpatient with this small talk. She just wanted to get inside and see Rory.

Sookie noticed Lorelai was uncomfortable. "Let's head in, shall we?"

Christopher glanced at his watch, "The nurse on duty told me visiting hours start at eight so I decided to wait out here in the fresh air."

It was just about eight so they went inside and headed to the ICU. Lorelai went in first, followed by Sookie, then Christopher.

When Christopher joined Lorelai and Sookie outside of the ICU area, he let out a slow breath.

"I still can't believe this happened to her. And it was at the worst possible time, when she was about to meet her son." He said.

Lorelai gave him a sympathetic look. She knew he loved Rory although he hadn't always been there much when Rory was growing up.

"I can't imagine how this must be for you, Lor." He added. "Rory's not only your daughter, she's your best friend."

Lorelai gave him a small smile. Sookie said they had better get to the Inn.

"Oh yeah. You haven't seen the Inn in a while, Chris. We're currently in the process of expanding… I bought another property actually." Lorelai said slowly.

Christopher frowned. "I was thinking I'd go meet my grandson, actually. Is he with Luke or?"

"Yeah. Owen's with Luke."

"Oh maybe I won't go then. I think I'd need you as a buffer." He chuckled.

Lorelai knit her brows. "Chris, come on. You know Luke isn't bitter anymore. He can be civil."

Christopher didn't say anything. He just waved his hand, dismissing the idea.

"Michel will be upset if we aren't there by nine. We should really get going. It was nice seeing you again, Christopher." Sookie said.

"You too," Christopher flashed her a smile. He leaned in and gave Lorelai a quick one-armed hug. Then he left.

"Hmm that was…" Sookie trailed off.

"Typical Christopher," Lorelai shrugged. She reached out and put an arm around Sookie. They left the hospital.

"Are you okay?" Sookie asked when they got back to their cars.

"I won't be okay until Rory wakes up… but I have to be okay, for Owen and Luke."

"For Luke?"

"Luke and I have to raise Owen together, at least until Logan is settled."

"You guys can do it. I know you can." Sookie praised.

"Thanks Sookie. Did I tell you how happy I am to have you back?"

Sookie laughed. "Only about twenty times."

They got in their cars and drove to the Inn. Lorelai asked Sookie to remind her to call Luke at lunch time.

* * *

At around noon, Luke was having a hard time trying to put Owen to sleep. He wouldn't stop crying although Luke had fed, burped and changed him.

"Come on buddy, what's wrong? Grandma will be upset that I couldn't calm you down… I don't want to have to call her."

Owen was in the bassinette so Luke picked him up and sat down. He shifted Owen so that his head lay on his chest. He made sure to support his head and under his bottom. Then he swayed a little.

After about a minute, Owen started to quiet down. He stopped crying after a few minutes.

Luke couldn't help but smile. He felt so relieved. Then, he suddenly thought of Rory and his smile fell. He wished Rory could be here to witness this. He thought she would be a good mother. He sat carefully on the bed and listened as Owen's breathing became even and he fell asleep.

He didn't get up for another ten minutes, worried he would wake Owen if he moved. Owen didn't wake as Luke carefully placed him back in the bassinet.

He kept an eye on Owen as he backed out of the room. Once he stepped on the first stair of the staircase, his cell phone rang. He almost jumped. He quickly pulled it out of his jeans pocket.

"Hello?"

"Hey Luke? It's Logan."

"Oh hi Logan,"

"I'm almost in Stars Hollow so I should be at your place in about ten minutes. Is that okay?"

"That's fine. Wait. Are you driving and talking on the phone?"

"Ah no I'm using a driver service." Logan sounded embarrassed.

"Oh okay. I'll uh see you soon then."

"Okay." Logan hung up.

Luke rushed downstairs and cleaned up the kitchen a little. His phone rang again after he put a few dishes in the dishwasher. He looked at the caller ID this time. It was Lorelai.

"Hey. How's it going at the Inn?"

"Fine. How's it going at home?"

"Good. I just put Owen down for nap."

"Oh that's good. You're doing okay then? With him? I mean I have faith in you of course… it's just-"

Luke interrupted. "Lorelai, there's no need to explain. It's fine if you're concerned. It's my first time alone with a newborn. But I'm doing fine. It took a little longer than I thought to get him to sleep, but I figured out he just wanted to be held."

"Okay." He could hear the smile in Lorelai's voice. "I miss you guys."

"We miss you too."

"I'll be home around seven. Is Logan there yet?"

"He should be here any minute."

"Ah okay. See you later then."

"Bye."

"Bye doll." Lorelai ended the call.

Luke pressed the screen and put his phone back in his pocket. There was a knock at the door. He rushed over and pulled it open.

It was Logan.

Logan smiled softly. "Hi."

"Hi." Luke gave him a little nod. "Uh come on in." He stepped aside.

Logan stepped inside the house and Luke lead him into the kitchen without a word.

"You want a drink? Coffee?" Luke asked.

"Coffee would be great thanks." Logan took a seat at the table.

Luke made a cup of coffee for Logan and set it in front of him. Logan didn't notice. He was looking at the door to Rory's room which was closed.

Luke took the seat across from Logan and gently bumped his knuckles against the table to get Logan's attention back.

"Oh…" Logan brought his gaze to Luke. "Sorry uh so is Owen sleeping?"

"Yep. I just put him down twenty minutes ago." Luke replied.

"And Lorelai's at the Dragonfly?"

"Yeah,"

It was awkwardly silent for a bit until Logan took a sip of his coffee. He grimaced. "Sorry, I should have asked before, do you have any cream?"

"Oh right." Luke got up and got a carton of cream from the fridge.

Luke placed the carton next to Logan's mug and Logan said a quick thanks.

Logan poured in some cream then sipped his coffee while Luke awkwardly looked around.

"So how long does Owen usually nap for?" Logan asked.

"Oh uh a couple hours or so I guess. It's varied."

Logan nodded slowly. He quickly gulped down the rest of his coffee.

"So I guess I could just go walk around the town a bit and come back in a couple hours."

"You sure?" Luke asked. "You can stay here if you want."

"No that's okay. I could use a walk."

"Suit yourself." Luke said. "I can call when Owen wakes up."

"All right." Logan pushed his chair back and stood up. He left the room and walked out the door.

Luke decided to call Caesar and check up on the diner.

* * *

Half an hour later, there was a knock at the door. He wondered if Logan was back already. When he opened the door, he found Emily standing on the porch.

"Hello Luke." She greeted him.

"Hi Emily. Come on in."

"Thank you."

Emily looked around and walked into the living room. Luke could tell she disapproved of the mess. There hadn't been time to tidy up since Owen came home.

Luke stepped in front of her and took one of Lorelai's blouses off the couch. Emily sat down.

Luke sat next to her. "I assume you're here to see Owen."

"Didn't Lorelai tell you I was coming?"

"Yeah. She did. I just didn't know when to expect you. Owen's napping right now." Luke informed her.

"Upstairs?" Emily asked.

"Yeah he's in the bassinet in our bedroom."

"Do you have a baby monitor on?"

Luke silently cursed himself. The baby monitor was off and it was in the kitchen.

"Um would you like anything to drink, Emily?"

"Sure. I'll have a bottle of water if you have it. The cab I took here's air conditioner was broken and it's hot outside." Emily answered.

"Sure thing," Luke got up and went into the kitchen. He found the baby monitor and turned it on. The other one upstairs was already on thankfully. He found a couple of bottles of water and took them back into the living room.

"Thank you." Emily said when he passed her a bottle. She opened it and sipped it slowly. Luke did the same with his. He sat on a chair across from Emily.

"Lorelai's at the Inn?"

"Yes."

"And you're doing all right with Owen by yourself?"

"Yes. Everything is fine. I'm… managing." Luke responded.

"All right. You could leave him with me for a little while if you need to do any errands or anything." Emily offered.

Luke was surprised. Then he thought maybe Emily thought he was incapable of caring for Owen. "That won't be necessary." He said calmly.

"Luke, please. You and Lorelai are in far over your heads. Taking care of a newborn at your ages,"

 _Look who's talking._ Luke almost said. "I know you're fully capable of looking after him for a bit, but Lorelai trusts me to take care of him. And I want to be here. We're in this together and we're taking turns during the week."

"I know about your schedule." Emily affirmed. "I want to be a part of it. I want to be more involved in Owen's life."

"But you live in Nantucket." Luke protested.

"I asked an old friend of mine if I could stay with her temporarily and she agreed. Just until Rory wakes up," Emily replied.

 _We don't know when that will be._ Luke thought.

"Your friend wouldn't mind having a newborn in her house?" Luke pondered.

"Well no, I'd stay here for a few hours maybe once or twice a week. Give you and Lorelai a break." Emily's expression changed. "I hope you aren't expecting Logan to keep his word. I doubt he'll be involved much."

Luke bit his lip. "Uh actually, he was just here."

"What?" Emily exclaimed.

"He called yesterday to tell us he planned on visiting today. He's somewhere in town right now."

"You're serious?" Emily didn't believe him.

"Yes. He'll be coming back in an hour or so… when Owen wakes up."

"Humph. I'm surprised he actually came all the way here so soon after Owen was released from the hospital."

"Well he did say he wanted to be involved."

"I know. I just don't trust him." Emily scoffed. "Not after all the bullshit he put Rory through."

Luke was sipping his water and he spit it out when he heard Emily swear. Most of it went on the floor but a bit touched Emily's pant leg. She glared at him.

Emily cleared her throat. "Well if Logan's coming back here, I don't want to see him. May I peek in at Owen before I go?"

"Sure." Luke answered. He didn't want to argue with Emily and try to make her see that Logan was just a father who wanted to be involved in his kid's life.

Emily came back downstairs a few minutes later. She said a quick goodbye to Luke and left.

* * *

Logan returned just as Luke was coming back downstairs with Owen an hour later. He knocked at the door again.

"You can just come in." Luke told him.

"Ah no that doesn't feel right," Logan rubbed the back of his head. He looked down at Owen and grinned.

"Hi Owen," Logan said gently.

"Do you want to hold him while I make a bottle?" Luke asked.

"Sure." Logan took Owen.

They went into the kitchen and Luke began making a bottle.

"Do you think he remembers me?" Logan asked suddenly.

"Dunno." Luke muttered.

"Yeah I don't know how a baby's mind works." Logan laughed as Owen grabbed his finger in his tiny hand.

When the bottle was ready, Logan asked if he could feed Owen.

"Uh I guess." Luke wasn't sure.

"Just show me how to do it. I need to learn."

Luke showed him and Logan did great. Owen stopped sucking after a minute and started crying.

"Aww what's wrong, bud?" Logan bounced him gently.

"Maybe he isn't hungry?" Luke said.

Logan passed Owen back to Luke and Luke tried to burp him. Owen only burped once.

Logan sighed. "Well, I should get going. I have to get back to New York tonight."

"Ah okay well thanks for coming and have a good night." Luke said as they walked to the front door.

"Thanks for letting me do this. I can tell you and Lorelai aren't pleased with my track record but I'm trying to do better." Logan emphasized

Luke could tell Logan was serious by the look on his face. "I know." He said. He shifted Owen and offered his hand.

Logan shook Luke's hand. "Bye."

"Bye."

* * *

Later that night, Lorelai came home to find Luke asleep on the bed and Owen asleep in his bassinet.

She didn't want to wake Luke, but she slipped off her shoes and slipped in next to him. She cuddled up close to him and breathed in his scent.

The sound of Lorelai's sobs woke Luke up. He opened his eyes and blinked a few times.

When he noticed Lorelai, he pulled her closer and whispered: "Hey, shh. It's okay."

"I miss Rory. And all of this is so hard…going back to work and everyone asking about her… seeing Chris…feeling sad for Owen because his mother can't be with him."

"I know." Luke pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Wait, Christopher was at the Inn?"

"No the hospital,"

"Oh."

"He wanted to come see Owen but then decided not to." Lorelai didn't tell Luke why.

Luke shrugged. He didn't really care with Christopher did or didn't do.

"How was it with Logan today?" Lorelai asked as she wiped at her own tears.

"Fine. He learned how to feed Owen. Oh and Emily came by too."

Lorelai raised her eyebrows, "My mother and Logan were here at the same time?"

Luke shook his head. "Logan came first then came back later after Emily had already left. She didn't want to see him and I didn't tell him she was here."

"Good. You avoided conflict. I trained you right." Lorelai teased.

"It was Emily's choice not to confront Logan." Luke replied.

Lorelai sighed heavily and pulled away from him.

Luke rolled onto his side and put an arm over hers. She twined her fingers thorough his.

They lied in silence for a bit until Owen woke up. Lorelai got up and changed his diaper and fed him then put him back down. She got back in bed and curled up to Luke again.

He nuzzled her neck and she lifted her head and kissed him. They kissed passionately. Luke was the one to pull away.

Lorelai reached down and unbuttoned her skirt. Luke gave her a puzzled look. Lorelai leaned in to kiss him again.

Luke didn't question her as she removed her clothes then helped him remove his. If she wanted to make love, he wouldn't complain. Even if he was sure it was just for comfort.

* * *

Rory still didn't wake up four weeks after her accident. Luke and Logan had started to lose hope but Lorelai and Emily still had some. The doctor called Lorelai in to discuss Rory's condition.

* * *

 **Author's note: I'm gonna leave it here as this is a long chapter and it's a cliffhanger. Thanks for reading. Reviews are always appreciated.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's note: Sorry for not updating for a little while. I've been busy and I had a little bit of writers block. I also want to mention that grandparents can be awarded custody of their grandchild, although that's not the case with this story. Logan and Lorelai have an unwritten agreement and I wouldn't think they would need to go to court/have the state involved but maybe I was wrong about that. I didn't do much research, but this is just a fictional fan story. It wouldn't happen in real life. I ask that you please keep that in mind.**

* * *

"I'm afraid that the longer Rory remains comatose, the lesser the chance of recovery." Dr. Griffin told Lorelai.

They were in the doctor's office. Lorelai had Owen with her and Luke was at the diner. Logan got a job in New York and he was living there full time. This weekend he would be taking Owen home with him for the first time. It had taken him a couple weeks to get settled at his new job and apartment.

Lorelai wished Luke was there so he could comfort her. "What are the odds she'll wake up soon?"

Dr. Griffin frowned, "It's hard to say, but there is some good news. Her EEG results give me hope that she's moving into a vegetative state."

"EEG?"

"Electroencephalogram. It measures the brain's electrical activity. Rory's results show that her sleep-wake cycle has returned to normal. This can be seen as the first step towards recovery. If we see any other response from her, I believe she could become conscious sooner rather than later."

Lorelai gasped. "That's good right?"

"Yes" Dr. Griffin offered an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about her EEG results sooner. I should have started with that."

Lorelai felt a lump form in her throat and she swallowed. She knew that there was no guarantee Rory would wake up soon but this gave her a little hope.

"I encourage you to keep talking to her. Several patients who have come out of comas have said they heard their loved ones speaking to them." Dr. Griffin said.

"Of course," Lorelai affirmed.

* * *

That evening, Luke arrived home to find Lorelai not home. There was a note on the kitchen table. She was next door at Babette and Morey's.

Luke decided to wait until she was home to cook dinner. He sat down on the couch and relaxed. When he started drifting off, he lied down and shut his eyes.

Lorelai walked in twenty minutes later. She smiled when she spotted Luke on the couch. He looked peaceful. She was happy that he was getting some rest.

After changing Owen, she decided to order food so Luke wouldn't have to cook. He woke up about ten minutes after she had ordered.

"Lorelai?" He called from the living room after he had checked his watch and saw that he had been asleep for over half an hour.

"Hey babe, we're in the kitchen." She replied.

Luke slowly got up and made his way to the kitchen.

"I ordered some food for us." Lorelai told him as he entered the kitchen.

"All right," Luke walked over to the table where she was sitting. "How's Owen?"

Lorelai smiled down at Owen who was starting to fall asleep in her arms. "He's good." She had already talked to Luke on the phone that afternoon to tell him what Dr. Griffin said.

Luke reached down gently touched Owen's hand. He took a seat next to Lorelai.

"Did you tell Babette and Morey what the doctor said about Rory?" He questioned.

Lorelai nodded. "I figure it would get around town fast that way. She saw me pull up and invited me in for lunch."

"I see." Luke yawned suddenly.

"How was the diner?"

"Busy. A group of tourists showed up. Lane also came in and asked about Rory, I told her that she'd be one of the first people to know if anything changes."

Lorelai smiled. "I'm surprised Lane hasn't come here to meet Owen."

"She said something about being crazy busy, something to do with her mom or the twins. I can't remember." Luke leaned back in his chair.

Almost all of the townies had met Owen. A few of them had offered to babysit to give Luke and Lorelai a break, but they politely declined.

* * *

Friday came quickly and Logan arrived at the house around nine o' clock that night. Lorelai already had Owen in his car seat and he was sleeping peacefully. Luke was already in bed.

"Come on in Logan." Lorelai held the door open for him.

Logan gave her a gentle smile. He immediately went over to Owen and picked up the car seat.

"Has he been asleep long?" Logan asked.

"A little while, I doubt he'll sleep through the whole car ride."

"I've got everything he'll need in the car." Logan assured her. "I even got my own car seat but I don't want to move him too much when he's sleeping."

"Great." Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, you should let him sleep as long as you can." She stepped closer and leaned down. She gently caressed Owen's face and whispered goodbye to him. He and Logan would be coming back Sunday night.

"So I'll see you in a couple days. Thanks Lorelai."

Lorelai just nodded. She trusted Logan would do fine during his first two nights alone with Owen, she just knew she would miss the baby.

"Bye." Logan said quietly as he stepped out the door.

"Bye. Drive safe." Lorelai said.

Lorelai cleaned up a little downstairs before heading to the bedroom. She found Luke still awake, reading a book.

"Hey babe, I thought you'd be out like a light."

"Nah. I couldn't sleep. Thought reading might tire me out a bit more." Luke put the book down on his nightstand.

Lorelai put a nightgown on and went in the bathroom to get ready for bed. She came back out a few minutes later and got into bed.

"So, everything go all right with Logan?"

"Yep," Lorelai replied simply.

"It'll be nice to catch up on sleep, but I'll miss Owen." Luke murmured.

"I'll miss him too, but yeah, I'm really going to enjoy sleeping in on a Saturday."

Luke leaned in and Lorelai met him halfway for a kiss. It was only a simple goodnight peck.

"Goodnight." Lorelai said once Luke had turned off his lamp.

"Night," Luke lied down and shifted until he was comfortable. Lorelai followed suit.

Twenty minutes later, Lorelai whispered: "Luke? Hon are you still awake?"

She felt him roll over. "Yeah,"

Lorelai reached for his face in the dark.

He began to ask what she was doing until he felt her lips on his.

She pulled back after a couple kisses.

"We can do something we haven't done in a while." She breathed.

"What's that?" Luke teased. He reached down and rubbed her thigh.

Lorelai brought her lips back to his and started removing his T-shirt.

* * *

Logan arrived at his apartment in the middle of the night. Owen slept for almost the whole ride. Once Logan was inside, he fed Owen then burped him and placed him in the crib he bought about a week ago.

He looked down at his son and couldn't help but smile. That smile faded when he imagined Rory standing next to him also smiling. Lorelai had told him what the doctor had said. Just like Luke and Lorelai, he gained a little more hope that Rory would wake up soon. However, he still felt incredibly sad for Owen.

Owen was of course, none the wiser. He had no idea his mother was in a coma. He was safe and happy. Although Logan's relationship with either his parents had been far from perfect, he couldn't imagine growing up without a mother.

As Owen started to fall back to sleep, Logan made a vow to him.

"I'm always going to be here for you. Even if your mom can't be here for you, I will do my best to be a good dad." His voice cracked on the last word. Owen made a little noise.

Logan chuckled. "You don't know what I'm saying." He smiled gently rubbed Owen's belly. "I'll let you get some sleep." He left the bedroom and went into the main room of his apartment.

His cell phone rang and he sighed. He forgot where he put it but found it on the coffee table by the fifth ring.

"Hello?" He said wearily.

"Hey mate! You've fallen off the face of the earth! Me and the fellas haven't heard from you in so long! How are Rory and the baby?" Finn's cheery voice was at the other end of the line.

"Oh hi Finn, sorry we haven't talked since I got back to the states. Things have been crazy. Rory is still in the coma." He let out a breath. "And Owen is doing fine. He's here with me in my apartment right now."

"Ah I'm sorry to hear about Rory. I thought she would have woken up by now."

Logan didn't say anything.

"You're doing all right with little Owen though?"

"Yeah. It's actually my first night alone with him."

"Is that right?"

"Yeah,"

"Okay well I was just calling to check up on you since none of us had heard from you. Send me a picture of Owen. He's got some good genes, that baby."

Logan smiled. "Sure Finn. Take care."

"You too mate."

Logan ran a hand through his hair and realized it was time to get it cut. He usually got it done about once a month. He collapsed on his couch and fell asleep within minutes.

* * *

"I'm sorry." Lorelai whispered.

"Sorry for what?" Luke whispered as he began to rub her arm.

"That I used you for comfort sex."

Luke snorted. "I'm fine with it. You didn't use me. We're married… I consented. It's okay if it was a comfort. It was also a way to uh…"

"A way to release tension?" Lorelai pressed her face into his shoulder.

"Yeah and to show we love each other."

Lorelai smiled up at him. He wouldn't call it making love but what he said was sweet. She kissed his shoulder.

"Goodnight." She said again.

"Night," He rubbed her arm once more before rolling over.

* * *

Two weeks later, Lorelai and Luke both had the morning off and they were visiting Rory at the hospital. Emily was watching Owen before Logan would come pick him up that night.

Last week, Emily was staying the night at Luke and Lorelai's house and she was there to witness Logan picking up Owen. She stayed silent the whole time he was there and spoke when he left. She was pleased that he was being responsible, but she also wished that she could see Owen more.

" _You know you're welcome to come over anytime, Mom." Lorelai said._

" _Yes, but I'd like to spend some alone time with Owen too."_

 _Luke and Lorelai exchanged looks. They were comfortable with their schedules the way they were but it would only be fair to let Emily have a morning or afternoon once a week with Owen._

" _Sure Mom. When would you like to have some time with him?"_

 _Emily said she would like to spend Monday afternoons with him. She thanked Lorelai and Luke for allowing her this time and apologized to Luke for being condescending when she visited before._

At the hospital, Lorelai talked to Rory. She told her all of the going-ons in the town and at home. She told her about Owen and about Christopher who had come to meet Owen a few days ago.

Luke told her that she was in the thoughts of Liz, TJ, Doula, April and Jess. He had spoken to each one of them and he could tell they were worried about both Rory and himself. Luke had been getting about as little amount of sleep as Lorelai had. He had even changed his eating habits a little. He wouldn't complain when all Lorelai wanted to eat was fast food and he would eat it with her, opting for a slightly healthier option on the menus.

"Well, we have to get going now sweets. I love you." Lorelai bent down and kissed Rory's cheek.

Luke stopping thinking and came back to the present. He reached down and squeezed Rory's hand. He walked over to the door where Lorelai was waiting.

Luke took Lorelai's hand in his and brought it to his mouth to kiss it. Lorelai smiled at the affection. Luke was one of the very few things that could make her smile these days.

Lorelai turned for one last glance at Rory and gasped when she saw Rory's eyes open.

"Lorelai? What i-"

Luke was cut off when Lorelai shouted, "Look!"

* * *

 **Author's note: Cliffhanger!  
Thank you for reading, reviewing, following and adding this story to your favourites. **


	11. Chapter 11

_Luke was cut off when Lorelai shouted, "Look!"_

He turned and saw that Rory's eyes were open. He gasped.

"Go get a nurse or doctor!" Lorelai barked. She kept her eyes on Rory whose fingers moved.

Luke pinched himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming then turned around and rushed out of the room.

"Rory… I'm here. It's okay, you're in the hospital." Lorelai explained. She stood next to the bed and took Rory's hand.

Rory's brow furrowed and she moved her thumb over Lorelai's hand.

Lorelai instantly teared up and wiped her face with her other hand. Luke returned with a nurse. She kindly asked Lorelai to move away from the bed. Lorelai did what she was asked and Luke reached out for her. He pulled her close and kept an arm wrapped around her.

The nurse first asked Rory if she could hear her, then she asked her to perform simple movements. She could only do some of them and she seemed aggravated. When she tried to lift her hand to her face, the nurse gently pushed it away.

"We need to keep the breathing tube there for now, dear." The nurse told Rory.

Rory's brow furrowed again and her fist clenched. Lorelai's heart broke for her. She couldn't imagine what Rory was thinking right now. What kind of memory did she have? Did she remember the accident? Did she even remember being pregnant? Was she in pain?

"I'm going to go find Dr. Griffin." The nurse walked over to Luke and Lorelai. "You two can stay here but please don't overwhelm her."

Luke nodded as Lorelai didn't appear to be listening. Her attention was still stolen by Rory.

The nurse left and Luke and Lorelai stepped up to the bed together. Lorelai took Rory's hand again.

"It's okay sweets. Mommy is here. You're going to be okay." Lorelai tried to soothe her daughter.

Rory looked at Lorelai then Luke. Luke gave her a weak smile. He was so relieved. Although they didn't know what would happen next, Rory was awake and that was all that mattered right now.

"I better go call Emily and Logan. They need to know." He whispered to Lorelai.

"Okay." Lorelai whispered. She still didn't take her eyes off Rory.

Luke rubbed her shoulder then left the room.

Rory shut her eyes and Lorelai was worried for a minute but then she opened them again.

Dr. Griffin arrived a few minutes later. She performed the same examinations the nurse did.

"Is she… is she going to stay awake?" Lorelai asked hesitantly.

"Yes. I believe she will. She's not completely out of the woods yet though. She may need physical therapy. But for now, she needs to stay in bed and we'll leave the breathing tube in for a few more hours."

Lorelai nodded slowly. She didn't know what to say. She was just so relieved.

Dr. Griffin did a couple more tests to make sure Rory could hear and comprehend things. She didn't mention the accident or Owen as it was too soon and she didn't want to shock her.

Rory could clearly hear and she responded to yes or no questions by blinking. Dr. Griffin promised to return in a few hours.

* * *

Meanwhile, Luke called Emily first. She didn't pick up the phone so he left a message letting her know he and Lorelai had something very important to tell her. He called Logan next and although Logan didn't answer, he texted Luke and asked him if everything was okay. Luke texted back and told him to call when he could.

Logan called almost right away.

"Hey Luke. What's up? Is Owen all right?"

"Owen's fine. It's Rory. She awake,"

"What? Rory's awake?" Logan wasn't sure if he heard Luke correctly.

"Yeah," Luke grinned. "She opened her eyes and she can move her hand. They're still evaluating her right now."

"Wow that's great. I'll come tonight and stay the weekend instead of taking Owen home if that's okay… I'll stay at a hotel."

"That's fine." Luke answered. "We'll see you tonight."

"Okay. Thanks Luke."

"No problem." Luke ended the call. He headed back to Rory's room.

Lorelai greeted him outside the room. She gave him a quick embrace.

"Is everything okay?" He asked quietly.

Lorelai smiled softly. "She couldn't do everything, but she's still recovering and she may need physical therapy but she's awake and that's a miracle in itself."

Luke nodded. He felt a tear prick his eye and he blinked it back.

"Oh and don't say anything about the accident or Owen to her. We don't know how her memory is. And they're going to leave the breathing tube in a little longer, so she can't talk right now."

Luke nodded. "I called Emily and left a message. Logan is coming as planned."

"All right. Let's go back inside. There's only one more hour of visiting."

Luke followed her inside. They sat with Rory for another hour and when they were leaving the hospital, Emily called Lorelai.

"Lorelai?" I got a message from Luke; he said there was something important you needed to tell me."

Lorelai couldn't help but smile again. "It's Rory. She's awake."

"Rory's awake?!" Emily exclaimed.

"Yes!"

"Oh my God! This is amazing news! How is she? Can she talk or walk? Did she ask about Owen?"

"Woah, slow down Mom. She just woke up a couple of hours ago. They haven't even removed her breathing tube. They did a few tests and she did okay but she can't do everything yet. She fell asleep and we didn't tell her about Owen."

"Oh… when can I come see her?"

"Tomorrow morning. Visiting hours are over for today. Can you bring Owen home now? Logan will be coming tonight and he's probably staying for the weekend."

"All right. I'll bring him back now. He had a long nap this afternoon and he's wide awake."

"Okay. See you soon Mom."

"Bye."

"Bye."

* * *

Emily arrived at the Gilmore/Danes house about twenty minutes after Luke and Lorelai did. She handed Owen to Luke and Lorelai invited her in. They all sat down and discussed what had happened at the hospital. Emily had questions about what Dr. Griffin had said and about Rory's condition.

"We should go out for dinner to celebrate." Emily said once all of her questions had been answered.

"We can't. Logan will be coming here soon and he'll want to see Owen. He just texted me to tell me he got out of work early." Lorelai replied.

"Well we'll wait and he can come."

Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "You want Logan to come to dinner with us?"

"Why not? He's practically family now that Owen is here."

"Practically family? I thought you didn't want him to be around Owen?"

"Well he's proven that he's responsible. I liked him when he and Rory were first dating. I just don't like that he was with that French women while Owen was conceived. At least he came to his scenes and left her. Rory wasn't completely innocent in that situation either, she knew he was engaged and she must have known there was a chance she'd get pregnant." Emily let out a breath. "Look, it isn't a perfect situation, but Logan has proved me wrong. He stayed and he's involved in Owen's life."

"Okay. We'll invite him to dinner."

"Besides, now that Rory is awake, maybe she'll encourage him to go back to London. We don't know if she wants to be with him. We'll have to see what happens." Emily said.

Luke excused himself then to go and change Owen's diaper.

"I should call Sookie and Chris to let them know about Rory." Lorelai said.

"You haven't told them yet?" Emily probed.

"It just slipped my mind."

* * *

An couple hours later, Logan arrived. Owen was still awake and Logan picked him up and greeted him with a kiss on his forehead.

"Logan." Emily said to get his attention.

"Yes?"

"I hear that you're staying in town for the weekend."

"Uh yeah, I want to see Rory tomorrow morning."

"Would you like to come to dinner with us?"

"Tonight?"

"Yes. Right now. We're celebrating."

"Um sure. Thanks for the invite."

"You're welcome." Emily said with a small nod.

They got ready and packed Owen's stroller in Emily's car. Owen's car seat remained in Emily's car and she drove him to the restaurant. Luke and Lorelai went together in the truck and Logan drove alone.

Their dinner had a few awkward silences, but everyone seemed to be okay with that.

"How are your parents?" Emily suddenly asked Logan.

Logan swallowed nervously. "Uh they're fine I guess. We don't keep in touch these days."

"That's a pity. I haven't seen them since Richard's funeral and I barely spoke to them there. We share a grandchild now. Have they come to visit you in New York?"

"Uh no," Logan lied. He hadn't seen or heard from Shira since she came to his hotel. Mitchum hadn't contacted him at all.

Logan cleared his throat. "I'd rather not talk about them."

Emily looked disappointed but she didn't speak about them again. Owen stayed with Luke and Lorelai that night and they agreed to meet Emily and Logan at the hospital the next morning.

* * *

For the first time in a while, Luke and Lorelai woke with smiles on their faces.

"Morning," Luke kissed Lorelai's shoulder.

"Morning. How'd you sleep?"

"Great. You?"

"Great."

Owen had only woken once during the night and Luke handled him. Both he and Lorelai had taken the day off. It was going to be a big day.

They brought Owen to the hospital and Logan stayed with him while Luke, Lorelai and Emily went to Dr. Griffin's office. She told them that they removed Rory's breathing tube and she could talk.

"Wow that's great. So she's recovering quickly then?" Lorelai said excitedly.

"Well, some of her motor skills have been lost, but they should come back in time. Her memory has definitely been affected. She appears to believe it's still July."

It was the end of August.

"But hasn't she looked down and seen that she's no longer pregnant?" Emily asked.

"No. She's slept a lot since she's been awake and the nurses observed her the whole time. I would like Lorelai to tell her the news. It can sometimes be easier to hear this from a family member." Dr. Griffin responded.

"Oh." Lorelai bit her lip nervously.

Luke patted her hand. "I'll be there." He whispered.

"Let's head into Rory's room, shall we?"

"We're all allowed in at once?" Luke asked once they were out in the waiting area where Logan and Owen were.

"I would prefer two at a time."

"I don't want to go in with Logan." Emily said in a low voice so only Lorelai could hear.

"Well go in third after Luke and me… or come in with me." Lorelai asked Luke when he wanted to go in.

"I can go after you, Emily." Luke offered.

"All right. If you're sure… if you're okay with that, Lorelai." Emily replied.

Lorelai nodded. "That's fine with me."

So Lorelai and Emily went in first while Luke and Logan stayed in the waiting area.

Rory appeared to have just woken up. A nurse was helping her sit up.

"Rory," Lorelai smiled as Rory met her gaze.

"Mom," Rory's voice broke.

Lorelai went straight to the bed and reached down to smooth a piece of hair off Rory's face.

"Mom… can you please… tell me what happened." Rory spoke slowly. "I tried going to the bathroom this morning with… some help from the nurse and I saw a scar on my stomach. Where's my baby?"

"It's okay Rory." Emily said as she walked over to the other side of the bed.

"Grandma?" Rory slowly turned her head to face Emily.

"I'm here and your baby is safe." Emily tried to assure Rory with a smile.

Rory smiled back but turned back to Lorelai. "What happened to me?"

Lorelai looked at Dr. Griffin who nodded. She sighed.

"Rory, hon, you were in a car accident. It was a little over six weeks ago. You were in a coma for all this time. They delivered your baby on the night of the accident. You had a boy. You have a son. We named him Owen like you wanted."

"What? I…" Rory took a shaky breath.

Emily rushed over to Dr. Griffin.

"I thought this would be too much for her to handle at once." She forgot to speak quietly and Rory heard her.

"No Grandma… I'm all right. It's just a shock. My baby… Owen's okay?" Rory sputtered.

Lorelai smiled softly and touched Rory's hand. "Yes. He's healthy and happy. Luke, your grandma and Logan and I have been taking care of him."

"Logan? He's… supposed to be in London."

"He's here. He moved back."

"When?"

"On the night of your accident, his flight was that night… a lot has happened but he's been involved with Owen and… well he's here, you can talk to him."

Rory's appeared to be confused. Emily stepped back up to the bed.

"Don't worry about Owen or Logan. You just focus on recovering."

Rory managed a small smile. "I was in a coma for six weeks but I feel so tired." Her eyes shut then opened again after a few seconds.

"Well you get some rest then. You can see Logan and Luke later." Lorelai didn't mention Owen as she wasn't sure if she could emotionally or physically handle him.

Rory frowned but closed her eyes again.

Emily reached down pulled Rory's blanket up. She and Lorelai followed Dr. Griffin out of the room.

When they got back to the waiting area, Logan shot up out of his seat.

"How is she?" He asked.

"She's fine." Lorelai answered nonchalantly.

"Fine?"

"Well she's got a long road of recovery ahead of her and her memory isn't great but she's awake and talking and that's what matters." Lorelai replied.

"Yeah," Logan gave a small smile. "Can I see her?" He asked the doctor.

"Let's let her rest for an hour or so. Then you and Luke can see her."

Logan nodded. He was very anxious to see Rory. He couldn't wait to hear her voice after all this time.

"Why don't we go get some coffee and snacks?" Luke broke the silence.

"You want some coffee?" Lorelai teased. She came to stand next to him and he draped his arm over her shoulders.

Logan and Emily agreed and they went to the cafeteria.

* * *

 **Author's note: Thanks for reading, following and reviewing. Sorry if this is an odd please to end the chapter. The next chapter will be out hopefully by the end of next week at the latest.**


	12. Chapter 12

When Rory woke up a couple hours later, Luke and Logan were able to visit her. Logan let Luke speak to her first. He was feeling nervous as he wasn't sure how Rory would react to him. Lorelai and Emily stayed in the waiting area with Owen.

"Hey Rory," Luke greeted her with a smile as he stepped up to her bed.

"Hi Luke. It's good to see you."

Luke chuckled. "It's good to see _you_ awake. You gave us all quite a scare."

"Sorry." Rory smiled sheepishly.

Luke tapped Rory's hand. "We knew you'd come back to us."

Rory smiled at him. She looked behind him and noticed Logan standing by the door.

Logan saw she was looking at him and he stepped closer to the bed.

"Hi Ace." He said shyly.

Rory frowned at him. "So you really left London and moved back here?"

Logan shrugged. "Yeah, I wanted to be closer to Owen… and you."

"You really left Odette?"

Luke glanced back and forth between them. He didn't think this was the appropriate time for them to have this discussion.

"Hey Rory uh why don't I ask your doctor if you can meet Owen?"

Rory gasped. "Yes, oh my God he must be so big. I missed out on so much of his life already."

Logan smiled sadly as he was reminded of the fact that Rory had never even touched Owen.

Luke gave a curt nod and stepped out of the room. He gestured for Logan to follow him but Logan gave him a look and stayed where he was.

Logan didn't know what else to say to Rory, so he ended up following Luke out of the room a minute later. Dr. Griffin was in the waiting area with Emily and Lorelai.

"Uh Rory's wondering if she can see Owen." Luke said to Dr. Griffin.

"One of you can take him in, yes. Just as long as he stays in the stroller or you hold him. Rory can't hold him; her strength and motor skills aren't up to par yet." Dr. Griffin said sadly.

"I'll take him in if you don't mind." Logan blurted.

Lorelai furrowed her brow and wanted to object, but then thought twice of it. Logan was Owen's father. He and Rory shared a child together. It made sense that he would want to introduce her to the child they created together.

"Go ahead." Lorelai said gently.

Logan flashed her a thankful smile then picked up Owen from his stroller. He headed back into Rory's room.

"She'll be fine." Luke whispered to Lorelai.

"I hope so. It must be awful to wake up and find out you gave birth and your child is six weeks old. She missed out on a lot. I couldn't imagine missing out on my kid's first six weeks of life."

* * *

Logan walked up to the bed slowly. He turned Owen around then bent down to Rory's level.

"Oh." Rory choked. She was full of emotions.

"Owen, this is your mommy." Logan breathed. He kept moving his gaze from Owen to Rory.

"He's beautiful." Rory started crying. They were both happy and sad tears. She reached out her arms to try to hold him.

Logan gently pulled him away.

Rory gasped. "Logan!"

"Sorry, doctor's orders. She said you couldn't hold him."

Rory's bottom lip trembled and she closed her eyes and threw her head back.

Logan sighed in frustration. He hated this. He wanted Rory to be able to hold Owen.

"Don't worry, you'll be one hundred percent recuperated in no time." Logan

"You don't know that, Logan."

Logan shook his head. "But I believe in you."

Rory just stared at him.

Owen yawned. Logan stood up straight and shifted Owen in his arms.

"He needs a nap. I'll bring him back to visit tomorrow."

"Can I… can I kiss him goodbye?" Rory asked.

"Of course," Logan bent down again and brought Owen to Rory's level.

Rory pressed a kiss to Owen's forehead.

Logan smiled and gently touched Rory's hand before he stood again and left the room.

* * *

When he got back to the waiting area, Logan placed Owen back in his stroller. "He needs a nap." He said to no one in particular.

"I'll take him home." Emily volunteered.

"Okay. Here Mom," Lorelai reached into her purse and pulled out her keys.

Emily gave Lorelai a tiny smile and took the keys. With one last glance at everyone, she left.

"When can Rory get started on physical therapy?" Logan asked Dr. Griffin.

"We'll see what she can do tomorrow." She replied.

Logan bit his lip. "I just… she really wanted to hold Owen and my heart broke for her. I hope she can fully recover and get to hold him soon."

"No need to worry, she should be able to make a full recovery. Six weeks is a long time to be in a coma, but others have been in comas for years and have made full recoveries."

Logan nodded. He turned to Luke and Lorelai. "I'm going to head back to my hotel for a little while. I'll come and visit Owen tonight."

"All right," Luke responded.

"Can I see Rory one last time today?" Lorelai asked Dr. Griffin once Logan was gone.

Dr. Griffin looked uncertain, but she said Lorelai could go in Rory's room for a few minutes.

Lorelai gave Luke a gentle smile before she headed back to the room. She knew he understood that she wanted to be alone with Rory and that he'd be waiting for her when she came back.

* * *

"Mom!" Rory cried out as Lorelai stepped up to her bed.

"Are you all right hon? Does anything hurt?" Lorelai asked as she bent down and carefully pulled Rory into her arms.

"Owen is so big already. I missed so much!"

Lorelai ran a hand down the length of Rory's hair. "I know. I'm sorry. But you're here now and he's going to get to know you and love you."

"He probably thinks you're his mother." Rory sobbed.

Lorelai slowly pulled back. She looked Rory in the eye.

"We took care of him while you couldn't. We're his family. You're still his mother and you will be no matter what. You're going to be able raise him once you recover." Lorelai gently caressed Rory's cheek.

"But I can't even hold him!" Rory agonized.

"You will be able to in time. I know this must be very hard and frustrating, but I promise you Rory…" Lorelai took a breath. "I will make sure you get the best care possible and that you are able to come home to your little boy."

"You can't promise that Mom. There's no guarantee I'll make a full recovery."

"No. There isn't. But I have hope and you have to have hope too." Lorelai teared up.

Rory scrunched up her face like she was about to start crying, but then she sighed.

The two women were silent for a minute. Rory cleared her throat and spoke.

"You're right." She said simply.

Lorelai managed a small smile. She pulled Rory back into her arms.

"I love you." Lorelai whispered.

"I love you too." Rory whispered back.

They pulled apart after a minute. The hug was calming for Rory.

"So, you get some more rest and I'll see you tomorrow." Lorelai pressed a quick kiss to Rory's temple.

Rory nodded. "Kiss Owen goodnight for me?"

"Of course,"

Lorelai smoothed Rory's hair one more time before she left the room. As soon as she spotted Luke sitting in the waiting area, she started walking faster.

Luke stood and was about to ask her what was wrong when she wrapped her arms around him. He immediately hugged her back.

"Is Rory okay?" He whispered in her ear.

"Let's go home." She whispered back.

Luke agreed and he kept his hand in the small of her back as they walked out of the hospital and to the parking lot.

* * *

Once they were on the highway, Luke cleared his throat and broke the silence.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"She was just so distraught. She can't hold her baby boy and she's devastated… she missed out on a lot. I feel the same way as Logan, my heart breaks for her." Lorelai put her head in her hands. "I just… need her to recover as soon as possible. I can't bear seeing her like this."

"I can't imagine what that's like… how she must feel." Luke said sadly.

They drove in silence for a bit before Lorelai spoke again.

"You should call April when we get back. She was coming back today right?" She said gently. April came into her mind when she thought of Rory. She could imagine how he would be if April was in Rory's position.

"Oh yeah, right," Luke muttered absentmindedly.

Lorelai reached out and patted his knee. "I know you're worried about Rory but she'll be fine. I know she will."

Luke placed his hand on top of hers and moved his thumb over it. He didn't need to say anything to show he shared her optimism.

* * *

Emily stayed at the Gilmore/Danes house that night. She and Lorelai spent some time together while Luke bathed Owen and put him to bed.

Lorelai came upstairs once Emily had gone to bed. She slept in Rory's room. Lorelai found Luke in the nursery. He was in the rocking chair and Owen was sleeping in his arms.

"Hey." She greeted him.

"Hey." He looked up at her.

"Logan texted me, he said fell asleep when he got back to his hotel and he didn't wake up until now. He's going to come tomorrow morning instead."

"Okay." Luke answered. He looked back down at Owen.

Lorelai came to stand behind him. She looked down at Owen too.

"He's sleeping so peacefully." Lorelai said.

"He's oblivious to what's going on around him."

"Yeah,"

"How's Emily?" Luke asked.

"She's fine. We just talked about Rory and what's going to come next."

Luke didn't reply. He was starting to drift off.

"I'll take him to his bed." Lorelai stepped in front of the chair and bent down to remove Owen from Luke's arms.

"I'm afraid that he'll wake up if I move."

"He's okay." Lorelai gently moved Owen and cradled him in her arms. He didn't wake.

They went to their bedroom and Lorelai placed Owen in his basinet.

"Wanna get ready for bed and then watch some TV?" Lorelai asked.

Luke knew watching TV comforted her. "Sure."

They brushed their teeth together and changed into pajamas.

"We're not watching one of your ridiculous Lifetime movies." Luke said once they had settled in bed.

Lorelai laughed. "Okay… how about we just watch whatever's on the channel the TV was left on."

"Fine,"

Lorelai turned on the TV then moved and laid her head on Luke's chest. He wrapped an arm around her.

There was a news channel on TV and they were breaking a story about a homicide.

Luke cringed and reached for the remote. Lorelai grabbed it before he could get it and she turned the TV off.

"I thought you wanted to watch something?"

"Nah, I changed my mind. I just want to sleep." Lorelai pressed her face into Luke's chest, kissed it then pulled away. She turned off her lamp then lied back down.

Luke's lamp was already off and he settled in the bed. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight hon."

* * *

 **Author's note: Thanks for reading. Reviews are always appreciated. Also, I forgot to mention that Rory has been moved from ICU into her own room. I'm not sure if Logan would really be allowed to bring Owen in to see her, but that depends on the hospital.**


	13. Chapter 13

Rory slowly regained her strength and some of her motor skills. She could walk holding onto someone a week after waking up. The doctors were still a little worried about her arm strength so she was still unable to hold Owen.

"Bye Owen. I love you." Rory whispered to her son. Lorelai put him in his stroller then Luke took him out of the room.

Rory sighed heavily. "I just really wish I could hold him. He's going to be two months old soon…"

"Don't worry, you're recovering pretty fast and I bet you'll be cuddling Owen by Saturday." It was currently Wednesday.

"But I just feel so useless. I'm his mother; I should be able to take care of him." Rory didn't make eye contact with Lorelai.

"And you will. I know it's frustrating waiting like this, but you can't blame yourself. The other driver put you in this situation and… you should just be grateful you're still alive." Lorelai said the last part quietly.

Rory glared at her. "Of course I'm thankful I'm alive. I just want to get out of this hospital. I'm going stir-crazy."

Lorelai pouted. "I don't know what to say to encourage you but I know you'll be able to hold Owen soon. You're not deteriorating. You're getting better. I feel for you, Rory but this could have been a lot worse. You could have been in a coma for years… or worse." Lorelai couldn't say the d word.

Rory looked down, still unable to meet her mother's eyes. "I know it could be a lot worse. At least my kid is only a baby. Luke didn't meet April until she was twelve."

Lorelai gave a sad smile. "That's right."

A minute of silence passed.

"I'm sorry." Rory finally looked at Lorelai.

"I'm sorry too hon. This is still a tough time for all of us."

Lorelai stepped closer to Rory's bed and bent down to embrace her.

"I think Logan wants to see you, but I'll tell him not to stay long. You should get some more rest." Lorelai said gently.

Rory just nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Lorelai gave Rory a soft smile before she left the room.

* * *

Logan came into the room a few minutes later.

"Hey Ace, how are you feeling?" He had taken a day off work. He felt bad about pretending to be ill but he really wanted to see Owen and Rory.

"I don't know why you still call me that." Rory muttered. "I'm no ace reporter."

Logan furrowed his brow. "Maybe not now, but you were a great reporter. What about that memoir you were writing about you and your mom?"

"I only wrote a little more than half of it before I lost my motivation. I was about five months pregnant when I stopped writing. I wanted to keep going, but I also needed to start preparing for Owen. Then I kind of just gave up." Rory shrugged.

Logan stepped closer to the bed. "Well you should keep writing when you get out of here."

Rory shook her head. "I need to take care of Owen. I need to bond with him."

"You deserve some time off once in a while. I'll be here on weekends and Luke and your mom and grandma will continue to help I'm sure."

"Grandma lives in Nantucket now. I'm sure she'll be going back once I'm discharged. Mom and Luke have done enough. I need to be a responsible parent once I'm able to go home."

"I know but Ac- Rory, you can't just give up on your dreams."

"Who are you to tell me that when you went crawling back to your dad's business after you were so insistent on getting away and staying away?" Rory became angry.

"That was different." Logan said bitterly.

"What are you doing here anyway? I thought you had a job in New York?! Are you playing hooky?"

Logan gaped at her in astonishment . "Why are being like this?"

"Like what?"

"Why are you so angry? I'm here for Owen and you. I just want to be here for my son and his mother. Are you trying to tell me you won't let me see my son?"

Rory made a 'tsk' sound. "No. I just think you should maybe visit Owen without visiting me."

"Where is this coming from?" Logan asked.

"I just…" Rory sighed. "I'm not myself right now and I need some time to learn how to be a mother. Once I'm out of here I need to spend as much time with Owen as possible. I can't think about you… or us right now. I won't stop you from seeing Owen but I just need some time."

Logan looked away and thought about what she just said. He understood how she felt but he didn't want to let her think she would be a bad mother. He couldn't.

"Rory, listen." He stepped a little closer.

Rory reluctantly looked at him.

"I was so scared when I saw Owen for the first time and I had to learn how to care for him. I had never even held a newborn before. Thankfully your Mom and Luke helped me out a lot. I know they'll help you a lot too. You're not in this alone, Rory. We're here for you. I understand that you need time alone with Owen, but you can't do everything by yourself either."

Rory took a minute to reply.

"I know Logan… I just meant that I don't want to discuss anything that has to with us, our relationship. I can't focus on my feelings for you right now. Owen is my number one priority. Of course you can still see him but maybe you can stay in Stars Hollow instead of taking him to New York every weekend?" She said slowly.

Logan wanted to object to that then he thought twice. It was a reasonable request. Of course Owen should stay in Stars Hollow with his mother that he hadn't known in his first six weeks of life. Logan could manage a trip to Stars Hollow every weekend or maybe every other weekend so he could give Rory space. He didn't know why he was in such a rush to talk to her about their relationship. It could wait. They had time now.

"Yeah. Of course. That's fine." Logan smiled. "I understand."

"Are you sure? I mean I wouldn't want to take away any of your time with him.

"Rory, you need to bond with him. I've already had time to that. And I need to work. I'll come on weekends. And uh…" Logan looked away then back at Rory. "I'm fine not talking… about us I mean. I'm in no rush. We've got time."

Rory just smiled and nodded.

Logan coughed awkwardly. "Well, I'll let you get some rest. Call me when you're discharged. I'll come to Stars Hollow next weekend."

"Okay." Rory whispered.

She sighed as soon as Logan was out of the room. She didn't know how she felt about him. She was so sure that he was actually going to stay with Odette and marry her. The plan was to get over him, never see him again. The positive pregnancy test last year changed that of course. She thought Owen was a sign that meant Logan was supposed to be in her life forever. Maybe he was the guy for her. She just wasn't sure.

Logan said a brief goodbye to Owen. He held him and kissed his forehead. "I'll see you soon buddy." He placed him back in the stroller.

Then he smiled at Luke and Lorelai and he walked away.

"Did something seem… off about him?" Luke asked.

"I don't know." Lorelai shrugged. "But if there is something off, it's between him and Rory."

Luke nodded in agreement. He bent down and picked up Owen out of his stroller.

"He needs to be changed. I can do it and meet you in the parking lot."

Lorelai raised an eyebrow. "You want to change Owen's diaper?"

"I can do it."

"I mean you're volunteering?" Lorelai was clearly amused.

"Yeah. It needs to be done before the drive home and I can do it. You can start the car. I'll meet you out there."

"Okay." Lorelai smiled then leaned in and kissed Luke's cheek.

* * *

Rory was released a few days later. She was finally able to hold Owen when she got home.

"Aww he's smiling." Lorelai gushed as she watched her daughter and grandson.

A tear rolled down Rory's cheek. "I feel so… peaceful."

Lorelai grinned. "That's how I felt when I held you. I felt like as long as you were okay, nothing could ever be bad."

Rory looked up at Lorelai and pressed her lips together. She didn't know what to say so she just smiled.

"Alright. I'm going to go get us some lunch from Luke's. I bet he'll want to see Owen since he didn't see him all day but it's nap time so he'll have to wait until he gets home tonight." Lorelai said.

"Okay." Rory whispered, not taking her eyes off Owen who was starting to drift off.

"I love you sweets." Lorelai called out as she walked out of the room.

"I love you too!" Rory called back.

* * *

Luke practically ran over to Lorelai the moment she walked in the diner.

"How's Rory?"

"Woah there." Lorelai held up a hand, wanting a little breathing room. "Didn't you get my text?"

"I didn't have time to check my phone. It's been crazy here. Tourists came from God knows where. Why do they want to see Stars Hollow anyway? You can finish a whole tour of the town in less than an hour."

"Well Rory's fine." Lorelai told him.

Luke opened his mouth to say something but Lorelai spoke again.

"And Owen's fine too. I left them alone for nap time."

Luke nodded. Lorelai put a hand on his arm and he calmed down a little.

She glanced around the diner. "I was going to get lunch for Rory and me, but it looks like you're still busy."

"Nah. It's slowed down a little. Sit." Luke pointed to an empty stool.

Lorelai walked over to the stool and Luke went behind the counter.

"What'd want? Burgers and fries?"

"Yeah, and a chocolate milkshake for me please," Lorelai fluttered her eyelashes.

"All right," Luke deadpanned. He knew that trying to get the girls to eat healthy was pretty much impossible after all of these years. He turned around to give Caesar the order.

Lorelai sat and waited for the food. She watched Luke work and offered to help him but he declined.

The food was ready twenty minutes later and Lorelai thanked Luke and said goodbye. She leaned across the counter.

"Love you, hon." She whispered so only he could hear.

Luke just smiled softly. He knew he didn't have to say it back.

* * *

Once Rory had put Owen down for a nap, she called Logan.

He picked up on the first ring. She knew it was his lunch hour.

"Hey."

"Hi. How are you?"

"I'm fine. So you're home?"

"Yep. Didn't I text you?'

"Nope,"

"Oops sorry I must have forgotten." Rory cursed herself.

"So you're fine?"

"Yeah. I held Owen for the first time."

"How is Owen?" Logan questioned.

"He's great. Sleeping."

"That's good."

They were silent for almost a full minute.

"Logan?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you coming to see u- … Owen this weekend?"

"Yes."

"Okay um good. I look forward to your visit."

Logan chuckled a little. "I look forward to it too."

Rory smiled to herself. "Mom just got home with lunch so I have to go."

"Okay. I'll see you soon then. Take care." Logan said gently.

"Bye." Rory ended the call.

* * *

 **Author's note: Sorry of this is a strange place to end the chapter. I kind of rushed this chapter so it's not the best. I won't be able to update this story for a while as I'm moving. Thank you for the support. Reviews are always appreciated.**


	14. Chapter 14

The following Sunday, both Lorelai and Luke slept in past 10 AM. Luke shifting in the bed woke Lorelai.

She rolled over and watched Luke get out of bed.

"Morning. What time is it?" She asked.

"Past ten," He answered after he turned to face her.

"Wow. I'm surprised Owen didn't wake us. I guess Rory was up with him."

"Mmm hmm." Luke responded. He started heading over to the bathroom.

"Wait for me." Lorelai called out.

Luke slowly turned at smirked at her.

"I don't recall inviting you to shower with me." He teased.

"I don't recall ever needing an invite."

Luke smiled and pulled her close. They walked into the bathroom together.

* * *

Meanwhile, Rory was getting ready to go out on a walk with Owen.

Owen glanced up at her from his stroller and smiled.

Rory smiled back at him then kissed the top of his head.

"We're going to go see Auntie Lane and Uncle Zach."

Owen cooed. He obviously didn't understand what she was saying but he was happy.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Rory arrived at Lane and Zach's house. Zach answered the door.

"Rory! It's so good to see you." Zach held his arms out for a hug.

"Oh." Rory whispered, not expecting it. She gave him a quick hug.

"And Owen. I haven't met him yet." Zach bent down slowly and greeted Owen. "Hey little man,"

Rory followed Zach inside. Lane was in the kitchen making a meal that appeared to be brunch.

"Rory! Get over here!" Lane exclaimed.

Rory giggled a little, happy to see her best friend. They hugged each other.

"Wow, Owen's gotten bigger." Lane had met Owen a few days before Rory woke up.

"Where are the boys?" Rory questioned.

"Oh they're at Mrs. Kim's." Zach said.

"Oh." Rory smiled. She was hoping to see them but it was also good that they weren't here. She didn't know if they had ever been around a baby before and Steve could sometimes be a handful.

"Sit. I'm making brunch." Lane urged.

"I already ate breakfast, but I can totally eat more." Rory took a seat at the table.

Zach sat at the opposite end of the table.

"That's good to hear since I made plenty." Lane set down a plate of food on the table.

* * *

"Mmm," Lorelai pulled away from Luke's kiss then finished getting dressed.

"Where are you going?" Luke asked as Lorelai started to head downstairs.

"To check on Owen and Rory,"

"Oh right." Luke was a little surprised. He thought she'd want to go back to bed while he cooked breakfast.

He followed her downstairs and they were surprised to find Owen and Rory gone.

"A note," Lorelai held up the note Rory had left on the fridge. She read the few words. "They're at Lane and Zach's."

"Ah okay." Luke said. He opened the fridge and looked inside. "You want some breakfast?"

"I'll just have cereal… unless you feel like making banana pancakes?" She smiled softly at him.

He couldn't say no to her. "Comin' up,"

She grinned and rubbed his arm affectionately.

While the pancakes were cooking, Lorelai got out another spatula and slowly crept up behind Luke.

When Luke felt a gentle tap on his behind, he muttered: "Don't."

"Aww are you Mr. Grumpy Pants today?" Lorelai pouted.

Luke turned to face her. "Your pancakes will be burned if you distract me."

"Fine, but I want a spatula fight. We haven't had one on ages."

"I forgot you were seven years old." Luke deadpanned.

Lorelai just snorted.

Luke continued making breakfast and by the time he had turned off the stove, Lorelai was sneaking up behind him again.

He could hear her this time and he turned quickly, raising his own spatula in defense. Lorelai tapped his spatula with hers, grinning.

Lorelai aimed for his butt again but Luke blocked himself with his spatula.

"Argh," Lorelai groaned. She tried again but he blocked it again.

Luke rolled his eyes. "You don't want your pancakes to be cold, do you?"

Lorelai laughed. "You're trying to end this spatula fight before it even starts?"

Luke sighed and once again defended himself with his spatula when she tried to hit him again.

Their spatulas kept knocking against each other like swords until Lorelai suddenly stopped.

"Did you hear something?" She whispered.

"No." His brow furrowed. They stood in silence for about twenty seconds.

He let his guard down and Lorelai took advantage of this.

"Ha!" She cried as she gently hit his butt with her spatula.

"What's going on in here?" They heard a booming female voice suddenly behind them.

They turned around to face where the voice had come from and found Emily standing in the hallway. She was giving them a disapproving look.

"Mom… what are you doing here?"

"I came to see Rory and Owen of course. I tried ringing the doorbell, but I think it's broken. You should really get it fixed. I tried the door and it was unlocked so I just came in." Emily answered.

"Oh." Lorelai slowly stepped away from Luke. She realized Emily must have seen her hit Luke and wondered if her mother thought she was immature.

"Where are they?" Emily asked.

"Rory went to Lane and Zach's with Owen. She should be back in an hour or so I think."

"You think?" Emily moved to take a seat at the kitchen table. She glanced around the room, clearly noticing the mess.

"Well I don't know if Rory is planning to go anywhere else, like maybe she wants to do some shopping at Doose's or something." Lorelai shrugged.

Luke put their breakfast on plates and put Lorelai's plate at the place next to Emily and his across from hers.

Lorelai sat down without saying a word and Luke did the same once he prepared a cup of coffee for her and a tea for himself.

"Would you like anything to drink, Emily?" He asked.

"I'm fine, thank you Luke."

Luke took his seat and began to eat. Emily spoke again as soon as Lorelai had taken her first bit of pancake.

"Aren't you worried about Rory being on her own? After recovering from a coma?"

Lorelai finished chewing and swallowed. "She's fine. Lane and Zach will make sure she's well taken care of. And she recovered pretty fast actually, the doctors were a little amazed, remember?"

"I meant when she's walking out and about in the streets, she didn't take her car." Emily said.

"She'll be fine." Luke and Lorelai said at the same time.

"She'll call if anything happens." Lorelai added.

Emily looked unhappy, but she muttered: "All right."

Luke and Lorelai ate in silence as Emily sat there looking around the room.

Lorelai bit her lip. She could tell Emily disapproved of the messy room. Neither she nor Luke had had time to tidy up lately.

"Uh Mom, did you want to wait until Rory and Owen get home or…" She trailed off. She was going to ask Emily if she had anymore plans today. This was an unexpected visit unless Emily had contacted Rory beforehand without Lorelai knowing.

"I'll wait until they get home."

"Okay." Lorelai managed a smile.

"Are you sure you don't want anything to drink or eat?" Luke asked her. "We have some of those bran muffins you like."

"All right. I'll have one if they're still fresh."

"I just got them a couple days ago." Luke said as he stood up. He had already finished eating his breakfast.

He got Emily a muffin, handed it to her and then sat back down. The three of them chatted about the Inn, the diner and Rory.

* * *

An hour later, Rory was heading back home when her cell phone rang.

"Hello?" She didn't bother looking at the caller ID.

"Hey kiddo. Just thought I'd check in and see how you're doing." Christopher answered.

"Oh hi Dad. I'm fine, Owen is too." She added although he hadn't asked about his grandson.

"That's good. You looked at little sad when we talked on Skype the other day."

It wasn't actually a couple days ago, it was a week ago but Rory didn't correct him. "I'm okay. Just getting through it day by day. How are you?"

"I'm great. Gigi says hello by the way."

"Okay tell her hello." Rory looked down the street and squinted at something down the street. "I have to go Dad, sorry."

"That's all right take care of yourself kid. Love you"

"Bye." Rory didn't wait for him to say bye or say I love you back before she ended the call.

She walked down the street as fast as she could.

"There she is." Jess Mariano said when he saw Rory.

"Jess!" What are you doing here?" Rory gasped.

"I'm here to see you and meet the kid. I thought you'd take the hint when I'd texted and asked you where you'd be today. I arrived about twenty minutes ago and I've been walking around trying to remember where Lane and Zach lived."

"Ah. Yeah they're in Sookie's and Jackson's old house… not that you'd know where that is." Rory laughed.

"So are you going to introduce me to your son or?"

"Oh! Right. I was just shocked to see you. You took some time off work?"

"Just tomorrow. I head back tomorrow night."

Rory nodded. She bent down and pushed the stroller cover back. "Here's Owen."

Jess bent down and glanced down at the baby. "Cute." He said tonelessly.

Rory smiled gently. She knew Jess wasn't exactly fond of kids.

Rory's cell phone rang again and she excused herself to answer it, not looking at the caller ID again.

"Hey Rory. I thought I'd call to talk and to let you know I can come this Friday night as planned."

"Oh hey Logan. That's good so you're not falling behind on work again?"

Logan chuckled. "No I'm all good on that front. How's our baby?"

Rory felt herself blush and she wondered why. Hearing Logan call Owen her baby was strange, it made her remember the night he was conceived.

"He's good. We're walking back home now."

Owen suddenly started crying and Jess took a step back.

"Am I hearing him crying or…?" Logan stopped.

"Yeah he is. I better go." Rory looked at Jess who had bent down in front of Owen again. She tried to signal at him but he wasn't looking at her.

"Okay. Have a great day. See you soon. Give Owen a kiss for me."

"Yep. Bye." Rory said quickly and then ended the call.

Jess was trying to pick up Owen, but Rory stopped him. "I've got him."

She picked up Owen and immediately noticed that he had a wet diaper.

"We've got to get home… are you coming to see Luke and Mom?"

"Uh… no I'll stop by later. I'm going to drop my bag off at the apartment and have lunch at the diner. You can tell them I'll be by later." Jess replied.

"Oh okay. See you later then."

Jess nodded curtly. "You uh…"

"Huh?" Rory was confused.

"You look good. You've recovered well. I was worried about you." Jess swallowed.

Rory smiled. "Thanks. Yeah I'm feeling pretty good."

Jess nodded again. "I'll see you later." He flashed a smile.

Owen was still crying and Rory shifted him to her other side. "It's okay. We're almost home and then I can change you."

* * *

When Rory got home, she was surprised to be greeted by Emily.

"Oh hi Grandma, I forgot you might be visiting today."

Emily managed a smile. Owen had stopped crying but there were dried up tears on his cheeks that Rory hadn't had the chance to wipe.

"Is Owen all right?" Emily took him from Rory without asking.

Lorelai and Luke stepped up behind Emily and Lorelai gave Rory a small apologetic smile.

"He just needs to be changed." Rory told Emily.

"I can do that. There are diapers in the nursery I'm assuming?"

"Yes. Thank you Grandma." Rory accepted the help.

"No need to thank me." Emily said before she walked away from them.

"How are Lane and Zach and the twins?" Luke asked once Emily was out of earshot.

"Oh the boys were with Mrs. Kim and Lane and Zach are good."

Luke and Lorelai smiled. Lorelai helped Rory put the stroller and diaper bag away.

"Jess is in town. He's coming here after lunch." Rory told Luke and Lorelai once they all sat down in the living room.

"Oh really?" I didn't know he had time off work. He didn't tell me." Luke said.

"He only has tomorrow off and he's leaving tomorrow night."

"Ah." Luke nodded.

"He met Owen then?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah," Rory answered.

"That's nice. I guess it's about time he met his… uh first cousin once removed?" Lorelai giggled. It was hard to figure out what exactly Owen was to Jess since he was only Rory's step-cousin.

Rory laughed too.

"It will be good to see him… we haven't seen him since the wedding last year." Luke said.

Rory and Lorelai nodded in agreement. Although Lorelai sometimes joked about her inconsistent relationship with Jess, she cared about him.

"I put Owen down for a nap." Emily announced when she returned downstairs.

"Good, thanks so much Grandma."

Emily waved her hand, dismissing Rory's thanks. She took a seat next to her.

"So you were at your friend's house?"

"Yeah. Lane and Zach. We had brunch."

"That's nice." Emily said sincerely.

Luke excused himself to go clean up the kitchen.

Emily asked Rory how she was feeling.

"I'm fine. It's a little overwhelming getting used to Owen's schedule or trying to put him on one, but I'm managing fine. Mom and Luke help a lot."

Emily managed a smile. "And you know I'm only a phone call away of course?"

"I know." Rory assured.

"And how about Logan, are his visits going okay?"

"Yes. He's a good dad… speaking of dads, Dad called."

"Oh, how is he?" Lorelai asked curiously. She hadn't heard from Christopher in a while.

"He's fine."

Emily didn't seem to bothered by Christopher's lack of involvement with Rory and Owen and the girls were surprised by that.

"I think I'm going to let Logan take Owen to New York for the weekend. I'll go with him to see his place too."

"Oh are you sure you're up for that trip? It's a long drive, hon." Lorelai was concerned.

"I'm sure I'll be fine. Logan wouldn't let anything happen to me."

Lorelai wasn't sure but she didn't want to upset Rory so she nodded in agreement. She knew Logan loved Rory and Owen and he would inform Lorelai and Luke if anything went wrong.

* * *

Emily left before Jess came by the house. Jess caught up with Lorelai and Luke. He had called Luke about once a week but it was better to talk in person.

The four of them ate dinner together and Jess stayed a couple more hours before heading back to Luke's old apartment.

Once Jess had left, Rory put one of her and Lorelai's favourite movies on and Luke went upstairs to do some bills and things.

Owen was sleeping on Lorelai's chest and she was watching him instead of the movie. Rory turned and watched her mother and son.

"He's perfect, isn't he?" Rory reached down and gently touched the top of Owen's head. A little bit of blond hair had started to grow.

"Yes. He is the perfect first grandchild." Lorelai kissed Owen's forehead.

Rory continued to watch Owen breathe in and out.

"Do you want to take him upstairs?" Lorelai whispered after a few minutes when she had turned her attention back to the movie.

"No. I want to watch him right here."

Lorelai grinned. "Good because I'm comfortable and so is he. I love watching him sleep. It reminds me of my first few weeks with you when you'd fall asleep on my chest almost every night."

Rory smiled and shuffled closer to Lorelai.

"You were perfect too." Lorelai whispered softly. "All pink and soft," She looked over at Rory.

Rory smiled again.

Lorelai yawned which made Rory yawn too. The three of them ended up staying on the couch for most of the night. Long after the movie had ended, Luke came downstairs and gently took Owen from Lorelai. He settled Owen in his arms without waking him and carried him upstairs. Then he came back and put a big blanket over Lorelai and Rory.

* * *

 **Author's note: Thanks for reading, reviewing and waiting for this chapter. It's sort of a filler chapter, I hope you don't mind. The next chapter will hopefully be out by next weekend at the latest. I put Jess in this chapter because I figured he had to meet Owen and he would be worried about Rory. I don't see anything romantic between them and nothing romantic will happen in this story. I'll always be a Rogan fan**

 **Reviews are always appreciated.**


	15. Chapter 15

"Are you sure you want to come Ac- Rory?" Logan questioned.

Rory gave him a look. "I'm already buckled into the car and I have everything I need. I'm going."

Logan smiled and nodded. "Just checking," He turned back around and started his car.

Rory was in the back of the car, next to Owen who was in his car seat. He was sleeping soundly.

And they were off. It was awkwardly silent until Rory started to make conversation.

"So uh, how are the boys doing?"

Logan knew she was referring to Colin, Finn and Robert. "They're good. I just texted all three of them yesterday. They asked for a recent picture of Owen."

"Really?" Rory was taken aback.

Logan chuckled. "Yeah they love seeing pictures of him."

"Oh." Rory whispered.

"I thought I'd send one of Owen _and_ you."

Rory frowned. "I don't know… I don't look so hot right now."

"It's just the guys… besides you look great. No one would ever guess you just came out of a coma."

Rory didn't respond. She thought about it for a bit. "I guess you can take one when we get to your place."

"Okay." Logan said.

Owen woke up an hour into the trip.

"Um… I don't know if you smell that, but he needs to be changed."

"Uh yeah," Logan laughed a little. "I usually stop at the McDonalds at the next exit anyway to pick up some food."

"Okay. Great." Rory smiled. She hated that she couldn't think of anything else to say.. She didn't exactly want to talk about anything with Logan right now, especially not in a car.

They were silent again until Logan pulled into the McDonalds parking lot.

Logan automatically opened the back door and started to take Owen out of his car seat.

"Oh, I'll do it." Rory offered.

"It's all right. I don't mind. You can wait here in the car if you want. Or do you want something?"

"Um no I eat before you came to pick us up."

"Okay. I'll handle Owen."

Rory passed him the diaper bag. "Logan Huntzberger changing a dirty diaper, now that's something I need to see."

Logan smirked. "Well I'll change the next one at my place too."

"Sound like a plan." Rory giggled a little. She was staying overnight at Logan's as it was already evening and they wouldn't be there for a couple hours.

Logan returned twenty minutes later. "Sorry there was a line." He held Owen with one arm and a takeout bag his other hand.

"No worries." Rory was waiting outside the car. Logan handed Owen to her.

"We're out of wipes by the way, but I have some at my place." Logan said once he had gotten back into the car.

"Okay." Rory had just buckled up Owen into his car seat. She shut the car door and walked around to the other side.

They spent the rest of the drive chit chatting about life. Rory learned a little about his life without her when she was in the coma.

Lorelai was shaken awake. She shot up straight.

"What?!" She yelled.

"Whoa. I just woke you because I thought you'd want to sleep in bed." Luke took a step back from the couch.

"Oh sorry. I was having a nightmare."

"Oh?" Luke gazed at her, concerned.

"Yeah. It's nothing to worry about." She forced a smile.

Luke considered pressing her but he offered her his hand instead. "Come on, let's go to bed."

She accepted his hand and he pulled her to her feet. "What time is it?" She asked.

"Just after midnight,"

Lorelai nodded. She followed him upstairs to their bedroom.

Once they were in bed and under the covers, Lorelai asked:

"Did you do the dishes, hon?"

"Yeah and I did a load of laundry."

Lorelai smiled. "Thanks. You're the best."

Luke smiled back then he frowned. "You can talk to me about your nightmare you know."

Lorelai looked down, but she spoke a few seconds later.

"Owen got sick suddenly and we were all visiting him in the hospital."

"Oh." Luke furrowed his brow. "He's very healthy, that won't really happen."

"I know." Lorelai answered immediately.

"Okay." Luke whispered, accepting her answer. "Goodnight."

"Night," Lorelai faced away from him.

Before Luke could turn off his lamp, Lorelai told him to wait.

"What?"

She moved closer to him. "Kiss please." She said with a sultry smile.

He leaned in and gave her a lingering kiss.

"Thank you." She grinned.

He gave a little chuckle then turned off his lamp. Lorelai turned off hers and they both lied down. It took a while for both of them to fall asleep.

Once Rory and Logan got his apartment, it was time to change Owen again.

Logan took Owen without a word and Rory followed him to the spare bedroom. There was a crib, a chair, a dresser and a changing table inside.

"Nice set up." Rory commented.

"Thanks. I was thinking of decorating it when Owen gets older."

Rory bit her lip and tried to imagine Owen as a toddler in this room. _Would Logan still have this apartment then?_ She wondered. She wanted to talk about their relationship but it would have to wait until morning.

She watched Logan change Owen's diaper, giggling a little.

Logan beamed. "What's so funny, Ace?" His smile faded when he realized he had called her by her nickname.

"Nothing, it's just… you're really good with him. It's good to see that. I never imagined this."

Logan put Owen in his crib. "You never imagined I'd be a good dad?"

Rory shook her head. "No. I never imagined we'd be here, with a baby."

Logan stared at her. He looked back at Owen who was starting to fall asleep. Then he came to stand in front of Rory.

"I don't regret it." He said thickly.

"Having an unplanned kid?"

"I don't regret any of it… anything that I ever did with you the past year and a half." Logan's hand brushed Rory's arm.

Rory gasped at the sudden touch but she didn't pull away.

"Really?"

"Really." Logan leaned in even closer.

To avoid the inevitable kiss, Rory wrapped her arms around Logan.

His arms encircled her immediately and he pulled her as close as possible.

"You okay?" He whispered after seconds of silence

"Yeah." She whispered back and moved her head to rest it on his shoulder.

'Rory I-"

"Don't." She pulled away. She wasn't ready for this.

"Rory…"

"Do you regret being with Odette?" She asked coldly.

He let out a small gasp then sighed.

Rory waited for an answer but he didn't give one.

"I'm tired. I'm going to bed." She would be sleeping on the couch as Logan only had his bed and a couch.

He followed her out into the living room.

"Rory I…" He trailed off when he saw the way she was looking at him.

"We'll talk in the morning." She said tonelessly.

He agreed without saying a word and wished her goodnight.

"Night," She mumbled.

At about four am, Owen woke them both. He needed to be fed. Rory walked into the bedroom to find Logan lifting Owen out of the crib.

"I'll go make a bottle. You have enough formula right?" Rory said quickly.

"Yeah. It's in the cupboard next to the fridge… on the left."

Rory went into the kitchen and found the formula. She spent the next few minutes preparing a bottle.

When she came back into the bedroom, Owen had calmed down a bit, but he was still crying.

Rory set the bottle down then held out her arms. Logan handed her Owen without saying a word.

Once Rory had sat down, Logan passed her the bottle. She whispered "Thanks."

Logan looked down at her and watched as she fed Owen.

The only sound was Owen sucking on the bottle.

"So if the situation was different… if you hadn't been in coma would you have breast fed him?" Logan asked suddenly.

Rory raised her eyebrows. She wondered why he was asking. "I don't know. It depends."

Logan didn't respond. He continued to watch Owen feeding. He was just curious as he read a little bit about breast feeding versus bottle feeding.

Once Owen had stopped and had been burped, Rory passed him to Logan. Logan kissed Owen's temple then put him back in the crib.

Rory watched with a smile.

"I'll uh head back to bed for a few hours." Logan yawned and walked out of the room without waiting for a response from Rory.

Rory headed back into the kitchen and a got herself a glass of water. After she drank the whole glass, she looked back at the couch. It wasn't very comfortable. She had only been asleep for a little over an hour when Owen woke up.

She went to Logan's bedroom. The door was closed so she knocked. She heard Logan get out of bed and he walked over to open the door.

"Need something?" He asked.

"I uh… I can't sleep. No offense, but your couch is uncomfortable."

Logan chuckled. "Yeah I actually bought it used to save a little money. I wanted to spend more on Owen's things."

Rory stared at him in disbelief. He wasn't exactly poor, but he had chosen to spend more money on Owen than himself.

"Oh." She breathed.

"Here, why don't I take the couch and you can have my bed."

"Oh no…" Rory looked behind him and saw that he had a queen sized bed. "You can stay in your bed and I can t-take the other side." She stammered.

Logan smirked and raised his eyebrows.

Rory hit him playfully. "Don't get any ideas. We still need to discuss everything. No cuddling, no touching. We're just going to be two people, sleeping in the same bed."

Logan smirked again, "All right."

Rory pressed her lips together to prevent a smile. Logan stepped aside and let her pick which side of the bed she wanted.

He got into the bed after she had lied down. He turned off the night and lied down and shifted until he was comfortable.

When they awoke a few hours later, they were closer together. They weren't touching, but Rory's hand was pretty close to Logan's chest. He woke a minute before she did and rolled over, facing away from her.

Rory opened her eyes to see Logan's back. She slowly sat up and then got out of the bed. She peeked and Logan who didn't move. She shrugged and headed to Owen's room.

Owen was still sleeping. Rory reached down and gently caressed his cheek. She heard Logan walk into the bathroom.

Rory watched Owen for a couple of more minutes then decided to make herself some breakfast. Logan had already told her to help herself.

She was just finishing up breakfast when Logan came out of the bathroom. He had to walk by the kitchen to get to the bedroom and Rory caught a glimpse of him in nothing but a towel around his waist. She glanced away although he was in the bedroom within seconds.

He came out a few minutes later in a T-shirt and sweat pants. He picked up a banana from the counter and started peeling it.

Rory put her dishes in the sink and told Logan that she had made a pot of coffee.

He nodded and told her he had cut back on caffeine.

"Really?" She asked.

"Yeah. I only have coffee in the morning when I'm going to work."

"Hmm," Rory responded. She stood there awkwardly as he finished eating the banana.

When he had swallowed his last bite, Logan cleared his throat. "So, do you want to talk while Owen's still asleep?"

"Sure."

They both took a seat at the table. Logan started.

"You asked if I regret being with Odette. And I do in a way, but also no."

Rory gave him a confused look.

"I mean when we got back together… when we started whatever it was you told me you wanted it to be casual. No strings attached. I was… still in love with you. I realised that about a month after we started the Vegas arrangement."

Rory didn't reply so he continued.

"But Odette was the woman who made everything easy. She was with me for business and family benefits. Staying with her kept my father happy and she was my friend. We were happy, neither of us objected to the arrangement, not at first anyway. My father helped me when I was at the lowest point in my life. I lost all that money I invested and you had just rejected my proposal. So I had to take his offer to start working for him."

"Okay. I understand that." Rory said simply.

"Once we-"Logan gestured between himself and Rory. …"started our arrangement, I knew I was a goner." Logan cleared his throat again. "I mean I always knew deep down I didn't truly love Odette, but I thought you would never give me the time of day again. So I agreed to marry Odette and I thought I could be fairly happy, successful. I missed you though… and when we met again, my heart took over." He stopped.

Rory spoke. "Logan, I felt the same way."

Logan looked at her in shock. He had always hoped she felt the same way but he didn't allow himself to think like that because she was the one who wanted no strings attached. She had a boyfriend and he was engaged. They weren't being fair to themselves or their significant others.

"Felt? Do you still feel?" Logan didn't finish his sentence. There was no need to.

Rory nodded. Before the coma she had known that she still loved Logan. She wasn't ever going to tell him though since he was still with Odette and she thought he was happy with her. "Yes. I still love you."

Logan took a deep breath. "Not just as Owen's father?"

"No. I'm in love with you. I have romantic feelings for you." Rory declared.

Logan couldn't help but smile. "I love you too." He said softly.

"It's great that we can admit out feelings after all that's happened, but we messed up Logan." Rory sighed. "You hurt Odette. I don't know if she had real feelings for you-"

Logan cut her off. "She didn't."

"That doesn't matter. She was still hurt. I'm sure of it. Paul never knew about you, but it was wrong of me to be with you while I was with him. I was unfaithful and I hate myself for it. I was bored with Paul and I realized I still loved you but I didn't break up with Paul like I should have. We hurt other people."

Logan took a shaky breath. "You're right. I hate myself for putting Odette through that. I should have ended things with her after we started sleeping together. I didn't love Odette, but she didn't deserve that. No one deserves that. I was just comfortable with the way things were and I didn't think you wanted something more."

They were silent for a moment, lost in their own thoughts.

"Logan," She spoke loudly to get his attention.

He met her gaze.

"I want to be with you, but we have to take things slow. I want us to work. Not just for Owen's sake but because I can't have my heart broken again. I'm the one who rejected your proposal, but you breaking up with me without trying to do long distance broke my heart. I can't go through that again." Rory choked, tearing up a little.

Logan reached across the table and took Rory's hand in his. "I promise you that I will do everything in my power to make you and Owen happy. I've never loved anyone like I've loved you. I'll do anything for you. We'll fight and disagree sometimes, but I will try to do better. I want to make this work this time."

Rory squeezed his hand. "Good. Then we're on the same page."

"The third time's the charm." Logan grinned.

"This is more than the third time." Rory pointed out.

Logan just shrugged. He let go of her hand and stood up.

"Come here." He said gently. He held out his arms.

Rory smiled softly. She got up, but before she could embrace Logan, Owen started crying.

Logan groaned but smiled. He went to Owen's room. Rory followed.

"He needs to be changed." Logan announced once he had set Owen on the changing table.

"I'll do it this time." Rory said.

"Okay."

Owen had a fresh diaper a few minutes later and he looked up at his parents and smiled.

Rory bent down and kissed Owen's cheek. Logan tickled Owen's toes.

Logan carried Owen into the kitchen and sat back down. Rory started making Owen a bottle.

That afternoon, Rory was heading back to Starts Hollow. Owen would be staying with Logan for another night and he would drop him off at Luke and Lorelai's house the following night.

Logan stepped out of the car and took Rory's duffle bag out of the trunk. He set it down in front of her.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow night then." He mumbled. He didn't want to say goodbye.

"Yeah," Rory whispered. She opened the back car door and said a quick goodbye to Owen who was in his car seat.

She shut the car door then stepped in front of Logan. They both reached out at the same time then collided in a gentle embrace.

"Have a safe trip." Logan whispered in her ear.

Rory briefly pressed her face into his neck, inhaling his familiar scent. Then she pulled away a little and their eyes met. She was the one to initiate the kiss.

Their lips brushed gently at first but then Logan deepened the kiss. Rory held on tighter to him. Logan brought a hand up to her face and cupped her cheek. He slowly ended the kiss only to lean in once more and peck her lips.

Rory pressed her forehead against his for a second then pulled away. She flashed him a smile then turned around and walked away.

"Bye!" He called out with a hearty laugh.

"Bye!" She called back.

 **Author's note: Thank you for reading. I hope this R/L thing didn't seem rushed. Reviews are always appreciated.**


	16. Chapter 16

When Rory got back home and settled in that night, she and Lorelai decided to spend some time together while Luke was working.

"So… how was your visit with Logan?" Lorelai asked slowly.

"It was fine." Rory said quietly. She avoided eye contact. She was afraid Lorelai would judge her or disapprove.

"What was that?"

"I said it was fine. Good." Rory glanced at Lorelai then back at the TV screen where a rerun of a sitcom was playing.

"Something happened." Lorelai raised her eyebrows.

"Yes." Rory murmured.

Lorelai gasped. "Tell me."

"You have to promise you won't get mad. This is my choice. Mine and Logan's,"

Lorelai just nodded.

"We talked about our mistakes with Paul and Odette and… we admitted that we still love each other. We're going to try to work thing out." Rory let out a breath and met Lorelai's gaze.

"So you're back together? Lorelai asked.

"Yes." Rory answered simply.

"Well I think that's a good thing." Lorelai smiled softly.

"Really?" Rory was surprised.

"Yeah. I mean it's what you want right? He didn't pressure you?"

"No. I love him and I really want to be with him. I want the three of us to be a family."

"Okay. Then that's all I want. I want you to be happy and if Logan makes you happy then I'm happy, kid." Lorelai reached out and rubbed Rory's leg.

Rory smiled.

"Just let him know that if he ever hurts you again, he'll have to deal with me." Lorelai said with a half-smile.

Rory nodded then smiled.

Rory and Lorelai were eating at the diner when Logan brought Owen back the next day. He had agreed to stay for an hour and have a meal with them.

They talked about Owen and simple topics. Lorelai didn't grill him.

When it was time for Logan to leave, he gestured for Rory to follow him outside. Owen was crying and he needed to be changed and Rory glanced at him worriedly, but Lorelai said she would take handle it.

Rory whispered a quick thank you then followed Logan outside.

Luke finished cleaning the counter then came over to Lorelai and Owen.

"Where's Rory going?" He asked.

"Just to say goodbye to Logan, I think." Lorelai replied as she lifted Owen out of his stroller.

"Want to handle this full diaper, Grandpa?" Lorelai asked with a smile.

Luke blinked at her, wondering if she was seriously asking. Thankfully, Kirk walked into the diner at that moment. He walked up to Lorelai's table.

"Lorelai, I see you have you have the town's favourite baby with you today." Kirk nodded his head towards Owen who had stopped crying and his gaze drifted to Kirk.

"Uh yeah but I don't think you want to get too close, Kirk. I was just about to go change him."

"Wait, you aren't taking him home?" Luke questioned.

"Um no not yet. He really needs to be changed. It can't wait." Lorelai frowned at Luke.

"But the change table in the bathroom is so…" Luke trailed off.

"So? Dirty? Old? What?" Lorelai furrowed her brows.

"Never mind. Just take him back there before he stinks up the whole place." Luke murmured.

Lorelai wondered why he seemed to be in a bad mood. She got up and headed back towards the bathroom.

"Mother keeps telling me she wishes Lulu and I had children, but Petal is enough work already." She heard Kirk say before she was out of earshot.

Meanwhile, Rory and Logan were outside the diner. They greeted each with a quick kiss with lead to a few more kisses.

When they pulled away, Logan had a serious look on his face.

"What's wrong?" Rory was concerned.

Logan gave her a sad smile. "I'm just going to miss you and Owen so much."

Rory smiled back. "You'll see us next weekend."

Logan nodded then looked down. They were awkwardly silent for a minute. He looked up.

"Hey, what you think about moving in with me?" He asked.

Rory took a step back. She wasn't expecting him to ask that.

"So soon? We just got back together, Logan."

"I know."

"And I need to stay here, close to my mom and Luke. This is my home."

"You _need_ to stay close to home or you want to stay home?"

Rory frowned. "I'm still recovering and I need mom and Luke's help. If I lived with you, I'd be home alone with Owen while you're at work all day."

"It'd give you some time to keep writing you book."

Rory pondered that. "Owen's still so young; I need to be with him. I wouldn't be able to focus on my book." She bit her lip.

"Then how about we get a nanny?" Logan said.

"Are you serious?"

"No, of course not. I know you'd never want a nanny raising our kid. I just wish we lived together so I'd get to come home to you every night." He said softly.

Rory nodded. She was at a loss for words. She thought about what he said for a minute. "I think moving in together right now is moving a little too fast. I want to eventually move out of Mom and Luke's house, but not just yet. Maybe you could look for a job in Hartford?"

Logan pressed his lips together then nodded. "Yeah, last time I looked there weren't any jobs."

"When was the last time you looked?"

"When I moved back here and I was looking for a job."

"You wanted to be close to Owen." Rory said in a low voice.

Logan stepped closer to her. "Closer to you and Owen," He took her hand in his and ran his thumb over her knuckles.

"So you'll look at Hartford again?" Rory whispered.

"Yeah," Logan whispered back.

"Good. I'm not going to be ready to move in with you for a while though, even if you find a job and an apartment in Hartford."

Logan nodded. "That's all right with me."

"Good." Rory glanced up at him and waited for his kiss.

He surprised her by taking her in his arms instead.

He held her close. "I love you so much." He breathed into her hair.

She held on tighter. "I love you too."

They pulled apart a little after a minute only to lean in for a kiss. It was a long kiss, neither of them wanting to pull away but needing to when the need for oxygen became too much.

"Bye." Rory said when they finally let go of each other.

"Bye."

"Here's the last slice of pie to take home with you." Luke placed a to-go box in front of Rory when she sat back down at the table.

Rory smiled. "Thanks Luke. Did you give the second last one to Mom?"

Luke didn't answer. Lorelai came back to the table, saw the to-go box and asked what it was.

"The last slice of pie," Rory grinned. She knew Lorelai would be upset that Luke had chosen to give her the pie.

"Excuse me?" Lorelai said after she put Owen back in his stroller. She put a hand on her hips and faced Luke.

"I gave the last slice of pie to Rory. You weren't here and I thought she'd want it." Luke said flatly.

"You didn't want to give it to your wife?" Lorelai said, raising her voice a little.

Luke rolled his eyes. "I always bring you home a slice if there's one left over at the end of the day."

"But today you just decided Rory should have it?" Lorelai said, unable to keep herself from smiling.

Luke realized she didn't really care. "Yes."

"Okay, fine. I can see who you love more." Lorelai placed a hand on her heart.

Luke made a 'tsk' sound and walked away from the table.

"No love for you tonight!" Lorelai called out after him.

Luke looked back at her and gave her a look. His cheeks were a bit red.

Lorelai laughed.

"Somebody's in the doghouse." Kirk said loudly.

"Shut up Kirk." Luke said as he headed back to the kitchen to make Kirk's meal.

Rory smiled to herself. Lorelai noticed.

"Thinking about how you're going to share the pie with me?" She asked her daughter.

"No way!" Rory exclaimed. She got up as quickly as she could and turned Owen's stroller around the headed for the door.

"You will share with Mommy. I shared my food with you for nine months!" Lorelai grabbed her purse and followed Rory out the door.

"You had to share your food with me. I was inside of you." Rory said.

"Well… fine but next time Luke will totally give me the last piece of pie." Lorelai stuck out her tongue.

Rory laughed. "Sometimes I wonder which one of us is more mature."

Lorelai just shrugged. They continued walking home.

"So, what did you and Logan talk about if you don't mind me asking?"

"He… asked if I wanted to move in with him. With Owen of course,"

"Oh…"

"I'm not going to. At least not right now. I'm not ready."

Lorelai put an arm around Rory. "Good. I'm glad. We would miss you dearly."

Rory forced a smile. She could tell Lorelai was hurt. She knew Lorelai was more cautious of Rory since the accident.

Rory didn't say anything the rest of the walk home. She was imagining living with Logan and Owen in New York. It wasn't something she wanted right now, but in the not so distant future, she could picture it. She started making a pro/con list in her head.

Emily called and spoke to Rory that night to catch up. She would be visiting on the following Friday. Rory didn't mention Logan asking to move in with her. She didn't think Emily would be a fan of the idea.

"Did you tell Mom about Logan asking you to move in?" Lorelai asked when Rory was off the phone and had returned to the living room.

"No, of course not, she's not exactly a huge fan of Logan."

"Yeah, but I think she can see he loves you and Owen… she can see that he won't bail on you like Christopher did with me."

Rory stared at her mother. "You think Grandma thinks Logan is like Dad?"

"Maybe at first she thought so. But Chris wasn't involved in your upbringing and Logan is a responsible parent. I think Mom is starting to see that and she will eventually be happy for you. She just wants what's best for you, like I do." Lorelai replied.

Rory nodded. "I know. You think she'll see that I'm happy with Logan? That I really want to work things out with him and be a family?"

"Yes. I came around and saw it."

They were silent for a couple minutes.

Rory cleared her throat. "Hey mom?"

"Hmm?" Lorelai lifted her head. She had been texting.

"I know it must have been awful… waiting for me to come out of the coma."

Lorelai swallowed. "I don't want to talk about it, or think about it." She warned.

"Okay." Rory whispered.

They both turned their attention to their phones.

When Luke returned home late that night, he found both Gilmore girls were in bed.

The light was still on in the bedroom and Luke walked over to the bed and noticed that Lorelai was sound asleep. She was on his side of the bed. He smiled.

Luke got ready for bed then turned out the light and got in Lorelai's side of the bed. She stirred then opened her eyes.

"Hey." She whispered.

"Go back to sleep." He said as he pulled the sheet and comforter over himself.

"I'm on your side of the bed."

"I don't care."

"Okay." Lorelai murmured.

Once Luke was almost asleep, Lorelai spoke again.

"You owe me a piece of pie."

Luke made a sound that was a mix between a cough and a laugh.

 **Author's note: I apologize for not updating in so long. I was very busy with my new job and I didn't really want to spend my days off writing. I also had a little writer's block. I'm going to end this story either next chapter or the one after. Thanks for reading. Reviews are always appreciated.**


	17. Chapter 17

Over the next few months, Rory made a lot of progress with her recovery. Dr. Griffin was amazed at how fast she recovered.

"You'll still need to come in for a monthly check up, but you're as healthy as can be."

Rory smiled at the doctor then looked down. "Can I start exercising more to lose the pregnancy weight?"

Dr. Griffin nodded.

Rory had been thinking about her body lately, about how she wasn't exactly happy with it. She had never really been self-conscious before but having a baby changed that. She had stretch marks and her belly didn't look the way she wanted it to look. She and Logan still hadn't done anything more than making out since getting back together. He was fine with it and he told her so the last time she and Owen stayed at his place overnight.

" _You know I think you're beautiful, right?" Logan said after Rory had pulled away from a deep kiss._

 _Rory just nodded._

" _And I don't care if you aren't ready to… get more physical yet." Logan chuckled. "I'm happy that I just get to be with you."_

" _I'm happy too." Rory responded. She kissed him. "But I'm not ready yet."_

 _Logan gave her a gentle smile. "All right,"_

" _You're really okay with it? It's been months."_

" _I'm fine. I'm not the guy I was in college."_

 _Rory nodded. "Right,"_

 _Logan kissed her slowly. When he pulled back, Rory lied down and patted the bed. Logan smiled and lied down next to her._

 _Before Rory could rest her head on his chest, the sound of Owen's crying pierced their ear drums._

Rory was brought back to the present when Dr. Griffin spoke.

"Good. Well I'll see you next month."

"Thank you." Rory stood up.

* * *

Meanwhile, Luke and Lorelai were spending the afternoon with Owen. They were walking through town, Lorelai pushing the stroller. She stopped suddenly.

"I smell snow." She whispered.

"What?" Luke hadn't heard her.

"I said I smell snow." Lorelai looked up at the sky.

"Oh." Luke deadpanned.

"It's going to snow any minute." She stepped off to the side of the stroller and looked up again.

"Well at least this time you won't wake me in the middle of the night." Luke took hold of the stroller and continued walking.

"Wait!" Lorelai called out.

"We can keep walking. You'll still see the snow."

Lorelai scrunched her face up but she walked up next to Luke.

They walked in silence for a few minutes. Luke felt a snowflake fall on his nose, before he could speak, Lorelai giggled.

"I told you it would snow!" She exclaimed.

"Yeah, yeah, I know you're never wrong."

Lorelai smiled then looked down at the stroller. "Hey! It's Owen's first experience with snow!"

Luke just nodded. Lorelai bent down to take the baby out of the stroller.

"What are you doing?" Luke asked.

"Taking him out so he can see,"

"But it's cold."

"He's dressed appropriately." Owen was all bundled up in a little snowsuit although it hadn't snowed until today.

Luke wanted to object again but he watched in silence as Lorelai removed the hood of Owen's snowsuit.

As soon as a few snowflakes landed on Owen's face, he started to cry.

"See, I told you! He doesn't like the cold." Luke held out his arms, wanting to take Owen from Lorelai.

Lorelai pulled the hood back over Owen's head. He still kept crying. She passed him to Luke.

"He's no grandkid of mine." Lorelai pouted.

"He's a baby. Give him time. I'm sure he'll be making snow-mans with you by the time he's three."

"I know. I was kidding. But Rory took her first steps-"

Luke cut her off "when it was snowing, I know." He cradled Owen close to him to share his body heat.

Owen calmed down after a couple minutes. Luke put him back in the stroller.

* * *

Luke and Lorelai were still out when Rory got home. She did find a surprise waiting on the porch though.

"Logan? What are you doing here?"

Logan walked down the steps and met Rory on the snow- covered lawn.

"I thought I'd surprise you. I tried calling you, but it went straight to voicemail."

"Sorry my phone died and I forgot my charger here."

"Come here." Logan murmured. He pulled her into a hug.

Rory relaxed in his arms for a few seconds before she pulled away.

"I have some good news." Logan told her with a smile.

Rory raised her eyebrows. "Oh? What is it?"

"How about we go inside and sit down? It's cold out here."

"All right," Rory stepped in front of him and went up the stairs to open the door.

"How did you doctor's appointment go?" Logan asked after they had taken off their coats and were walking into the living room.

"It went well." Rory sat on the couch and waited until Logan sat next to her to ask again what the good news was.

Logan smiled and patted her knee. "Okay well remember how I applied to that job in Middletown?"

Rory nodded.

"Well, I didn't tell you that I interviewed for it the other day and they called me today, I got offered the job!"

Rory gasped. "That's amazing!" Middletown is so close!"

"I know." Logan grinned.

"Did you already look for an apartment there?"

"Yes and there's two that look great. I've arranged appointments to see them. You'll come right?"

"Of course," Rory couldn't stop smiling. She was happy for Logan and she was excited to move in with him. She wanted to get out of Luke's and Lorelai's hair. They had already done so much for her and Owen.

Logan leaned in and pecked Rory's lips. When he started to pull away, Rory pulled him back. They kissed a few times before the sound of the front door opening startled them.

Luke and Lorelai stepped inside, Luke pushing Owen's stroller.

"Oh hey Logan!" Lorelai greeted Logan.

"Hi Lorelai, how are you?"

"I'm good thanks." Lorelai removed her coat and shoes.

"And how are you, Luke?" Logan asked.

"I'm fine." Luke managed a smile.

Rory gently removed a sleeping Owen from the stroller. "I'm going to go put him in his crib and when I get back, I want to talk to you guys." She told Luke and Lorelai.

Logan waited for Luke and Lorelai to take a seat before he took one.

They chatted while Rory was upstairs. She was back a few minutes later.

"So what's up kid?" Lorelai asked once Rory had taken a seat next to Logan.

Rory glanced at Logan, a smile on her face. She took a breath. "Logan got a job in Middletown and Owen and I are going to move there with him."

Lorelai and Luke both whispered "Oh."

"Isn't it great?!" Logan exclaimed.

"It sure is." Luke said. "Congratulations." He held out his hand for Logan to shake.

"Thanks." Logan shook his hand.

"Mom? You haven't said anything." Rory said after a minute of awkward silence passed.

"Congratulations Logan! And Rory, this is so exciting!" Lorelai grinned.

"Thanks." Logan and Rory said at the same time.

"I think we have a bottle of wine in the cupboard. We should celebrate." Luke said.

They all moved into the kitchen and Luke poured four glasses of wine. The next half hour was spent planning and drinking.

* * *

Later that night, Rory found Lorelai alone in Owen's room.

"I know you're going to miss him." Rory said softly.

Lorelai chuckled. "Of course I'll miss both of you. But you won't be very far."

Rory stepped up next to her mother.

"That's right and Owen and I will miss you too but it's time for us to go. You and Luke have done everything for us and now it's time for us to stand on our own."

Lorelai nodded. She looked down and was silent for a moment. "How can you be sure you're ready?"

Rory answered immediately. "I just know…" She sighed softly. "I know you've become even more protective of me since I woke up from the coma and you're scared, but I'll be all right. Logan will take care of both me and Owen."

Lorelai glanced at Rory. Their eyes met. "I know. I just feel a little…" She trailed off.

"Sad?" Rory asked.

"Yeah," Lorelai said gently.

"That's okay." Rory whispered. "It's really bittersweet."

"It feels similar to when you were moving to Yale."

Rory shook her head. "But this time it's not just me leaving, but Owen too."

"Yeah," Lorelai whispered. She quickly wiped at a tear that had slid down her cheek.

"He's your fist grandchild and you and Luke were the ones to raise him for the first weeks of his life… of course it's going to hurt not to see him every day." Rory understood.

Lorelai didn't say anything.

Rory pulled Lorelai to her. They embraced for a long time.

"I'll never be able…" Rory choked up. "I'll never be able to thank you and Luke enough."

Lorelai half laughed half coughed. "Oh sweets, there's no need to thank us."

The two of them stayed in Owen's room and little longer and watched him sleep.

* * *

A couple weeks passed and the night before Rory was set to leave arrived.

Luke and Lorelai were spending one last night with Owen while Logan and Rory were out for dinner.

"It's almost time to put him to bed." Lorelai said as she looked down at Owen who was in her arms.

"His eyes are closed, he must almost be asleep." Luke smoothed Owen's hair.

"Hmm," Lorelai murdered. She didn't take her eyes off Owen.

"We'll miss him, but you have to admit it will be nice having some time to ourselves again."

"Yep," Lorelai smiled. She looked at Luke. "I love you hon."

Luke was a bit shocked at the sudden declaration. "I love you too."

"And I love you, baby." Lorelai kissed the top of Owen's head.

Luke smiled softly. "Let's go put him to bed."

"Okay." Lorelai said but she made no effort to move.

Luke stood up. Lorelai slowly but surely stood too.

They walked up the stairs, Lorelai behind Luke.

Once Lorelai had put Owen in the crib, Luke put an arm around her. She laid her head on his shoulder.

They stood there in silence for a few minutes then headed back downstairs. Lorelai turned the TV on and put on a movie that was already half over. Luke sat and watched for a bit and when he tried to get up, Lorelai grabbed his arm.

"Stay." She said.

Luke didn't argue. Lorelai cuddled up to him.

When Rory returned that evening, she found Luke and Lorelai asleep on the couch, still snuggled closely together.

She smiled and found a blanket to put over them then turned off the TV.

The next morning was spent moving the last of Rory and Owen's things into her car. Once the last thing was inside, Rory stepped back into the house. Luke and Lorelai were standing in the entryway. Lorelai was holding Owen.

"I guess this is it." Rory breathed.

"I guess so." Luke replied.

Rory was the one to initiate a hug. She was surprised when Luke pulled her closer.

"Take care." Luke whispered in her ear.

"You too," Rory whispered back. "Love you." She added.

Luke patted her back. "Love ya too."

Rory gave Luke a smile when she pulled away which he returned.

Lorelai passed Owen to Luke. Owen whimpered a little bit. He didn't want to leave Lorelai, it seemed.

"It's okay buddy." Luke managed to soothe the baby. He stepped aside and said a goodbye while Lorelai and Rory said their own goodbye.

"Call me if you need anything and I'll be there as soon as possible."

"Mom, you've given us everything we need." Rory said sincerely.

Lorelai nodded and burst into tears.

"Oh Mom," Rory went into Lorelai's waiting arms.

"I can't help it, I'm emotional." Lorelai said.

"I love you Mom. I'll see you soon."

"I love you too, kid."

They embraced a little longer then slowly pulled apart.

Rory took Owen from Luke. Lorelai beckoned her closer.

Lorelai kissed the top of her grandson's head once more then bent down.

"Bye bye, Owen. Grandma loves you very much."

Owen just cooed and smiled.

With one last look at Luke and Lorelai, Rory turned around and walked out the door. Once she had put Owen in his car seat and was buckled in her seat, she glanced at the house, one last look before starting a new chapter of her life.

* * *

 **Author's note: Thank you for reading. Thank you for all the reviews, follows and favourites. I finally finished this story after lots of writers block. I don't know when my next story will be or if I'll ever write another story since I have a lot less free time now that I have a job. Thanks again and I hope you enjoy this last chapter.**


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